


The Ice Queen

by ComingandGoingByBubble



Category: The Wicked Years Series - Gregory Maguire, Wicked - All Media Types, Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman
Genre: F/F, F/M, great expectations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 43,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5573425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComingandGoingByBubble/pseuds/ComingandGoingByBubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How many times must I tell you that I have no heart, my dear Elphaba?" Glinda gazed upon the green woman sadly, "I mean, I have a heart that beats and keeps me alive, yes. But a heart that loves," the blonde shook her head, "I wasn't blessed with such a precious treasure. I wasn't designed with such a heart." Based off of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron, or gold, of thorns, or flowers that would never bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day..."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

The house itself looked like a ghost. The once creamy white exterior had faded away to a graying-yellowing color which reminded Elphaba of the skin of the dying. With its ivory covered chains wrapped around it, it barely looked like a place that one wanted to live in.

She was confused. Her father had told her that this mansion was owned by the Uplands, Mr. and Mrs, and their daughter Galinda, and that they were the one of the wealthiest families of Oz. If they were so wealthy, why did their house look so ruined?

Elphaba stood at the towering wrought iron gate, observing her new home quietly. The ruined grandeur of it all. She could vaguely see figures crossing through the rooms against the dark curtains. They passed so quickly she wondered if she had even really seen them at all.

"You are to be on your best behavior now, Elphaba," her father reminded her sternly, catching her attention, "I don't want to hear about any trouble. The Uplands have been gracious enough to let you live here, even with your skin tone mentioned. I do not want you to ruin this opportunity."

"I won't, Father," Elphaba replied brushing a lock of long black hair behind her ear. She swallowed and looked up at her Father nervously. She didn't want to disappoint him again.

"Don't know why these people didn't inquire about Nessarose coming to live with them, she'd be better suited for this lifestyle anyways," Frex muttered under his breath.

Elphaba bit her lip and felt her mood lower. She was always second best when it came to Nessa.

It had caused a rift in the household when Elphaba had been asked to come and live in the Upland's residence. She didn't quite know exactly what was in store for her here at the Upland's mansion, with its mysterious air and atmosphere. It had all been very brief, her invitation. Father had received a note one day from a Mr. Upland asking if Frexspar the Godly's eldest daughter might 'come to live with us and be a companion for our dear daughter, Galinda.' He promised that she would be well fed, and taken care of. He even said that they would allow her the holidays to come home and visit Nessarose. Father had had mixed feelings. On one hand he was glad to be rid of Elphaba, the disappointment of the family, the outcast. But the other side of him was annoyed as to why they hadn't asked about Nessarose, Elphaba's younger sister, who, he claimed, was much more qualified.

But the Uplands had insisted on Elphaba. Just her.

Elphaba had been delighted nonetheless at the opportunity but it was all very strange.

Why her? Why now?

All these questions were buzzing around her head and yet she didn't dare ask Father. She knew better than that.

Either way, she would find out soon enough.

A hand maiden finally came to the gate to let her in, and Elphaba was prodded in the back by Frex to stand up straight and make a good impression. She winced and rubbed her back before placing her hands in front of her stomach like her Father had taught her to.

"Are you Miss Elphaba?" she asked, glancing at the young girl.

Elphaba nodded curtly. She was slightly hesitant, at least the handmaiden hadn't freaked out about her unusual skin color. She fidgeted with her hands looking down at the green pigmentation in disgust. Why did she have to be such a freak?

"Well, come on inside. They're expecting you," the maid took her bags from Father. Elphaba looked back at Frex for encouragement but he was already halfway back to the carriage now.

Taking one last look at the exterior of the house, its ruined splendor and glory, Elphaba summoned up her courage and took a deep breath. She could do this, whatever came her way she could handle it.

After all, anything was better than living with her Father.

On the inside, the house was even more dismal and gray than on the outside. The contents of the house were dark and gloomy, cobwebs were splayed out like artwork on the walls, connecting from corner to corner. She couldn't imagine anyone happy living here. This was even more miserable and dark than her home back in Quadling country.

"Come along, you. Keep up!" scolded the handmaiden when Elphaba slowed her pace to gaze at the glorious, broken chandelier that hung high above the grand staircase. There seemed to be a quiet, low melody floating through the air of the house, like the ghosts that inhabited the house were singing their sorrows.

Elphaba very soon came to the conclusion that everything in this house was broken, or damaged, or even ruined.

From the windows tinted with dirt, to the carpets cluttered with dust, this house certainly was something else. She had never seen something so glorious, and what could be so beautiful, be so vile and tainted.

She thought mansions were supposed to be godly, wealthy, not look like a place of ruin and destruction.

Consumed by her thoughts, Elphaba almost ended up accidentally bumping into the handmaiden who had stopped to open a door.

"Watch it!" the handmaiden cursed and muttered something under her breath as she pulled the door open.

Elphaba stepped inside and was greeted by a most peculiar sight. She hadn't known people who had ever sat so still that they appeared to be statues, but the Uplands managed to do just that. They looked like pristine, porcelain dolls against the grim backdrop of the house.

All three of them had golden blonde hair. That was their defining feature. It was a stark contrast between the grey color of the room, with its grim, cold fireplace and darkened curtains. Even the air held a chill in it. It was like all three of them were frozen in time.

Mr. Upland, Elphaba saw, also had a blonde mustache that curled upwards at the end that reminded her somewhat of a clown's. He had piercing dark eyes that held sort of a twinkle of excitement and mystery, and he was fit and trim. He sat in an armchair reading today's paper intently, his dark formal clothes giving him a certain refinance.

Mrs. Upland had a very beautiful face, but it was the sort of face that got worn out easily, one that was still young in its time but looked as though it had lived through a thousand years. Her eyes, which had once been a bright blue, were now dull as if this house has sucked the life out of them. Her lips were set in a straight line, and the air about her was of disdain and bitterness. Elphaba had never seen anyone so unhappy and yet so beautiful. Her dress was a pale pink, faded from a previously bright shade, just like everything else in this house. She sat in a maroon chair with her sewing in her lap.

As for the third occupant in the room, when Elphaba finally laid eyes on her, she was astounded. Not only was this Galinda a carbon copy of her mother, mainly in looks and the air about her, but she was perhaps the most beautiful girl Elphaba had ever seen. She sat prim and proper at the piano's bench. Her fingers danced along the keys expertly, as if she had been playing since the beginning of time. The melody was soft and quiet. But it was still beautiful, a piece that Elphaba hadn't heard before.

It seemed, as though, in that moment that all light reflected off of the girl at the piano, Galinda, like all the attention was directed at, and only for her.

Her hair hung in shiny gold ringlets around her shoulders, her delicate face was highlighted by perfect ruby lips and glinting sapphire eyes, and she radiated a sort of attractiveness from her that Elphaba could not quite place. She was all things a young lady should be, whereas Elphaba was not. She was petite and delicate, Elphaba was lean and rough around the edges. She had a dress of powdered blue on, Elphaba had on a black simple frame of a dress.

As she stood there staring at all of them, she couldn't help but feel terribly out of place here. These statues, these people didn't belong in her world and she didn't belong in theirs. She was a freak of nature, an abomination... what did they want with her?

The girl, Galinda, was the first one to make eye contact with Elphaba.

As soon as she did, the music that she was making came to an abrupt halt. The room became eerily silent.

"Oh, look...It's here," she said quite coldly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

"She says many hard things of you, but you say nothing of her. What do you think of her?"

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

All three of the Uplands turned to stare at their new guest. Elphaba could feel their eyes on her. She turned a darker shade of green.

"So it is true," the little blonde said in disgust, disdain dripping in every word, "She really is green." She spoke haughtily as if she was on a permanent pedestal above everyone else, as if the world belonged to her.

Elphaba swallowed hard at her words and looked back up at Galinda, those sapphire eyes were twinkling with amusement out of Elphaba's humiliation. She looked rather pleased with herself, that Galinda, of her observation, of that cruel remark she had just made. Her parents did too, for they made no effort to shush the insulting girl nor condemn her comments.

"She looks like a frog. I didn't know frogs could be considered as children," Galinda sat up straighter on the piano bench, her mood turning excitable as she kept the insults about Elphaba going.

"Is that why you hired her, Momsie, for her to be my pet?" Galinda laughed a little at her own remark but no one else shared the merriment. It seemed as though her parents had retreated back into their statue like state.

Elphaba stood there silently, having been used to the regular teasing and taunting she had faced back home. This was nothing compared to her family.

She looked to Mrs. and Mr. Upland to see if they were enjoying themselves as much as Galinda was and found that they both had small smiles on their faces. Elphaba felt even angrier. She hadn't even been in this house for ten minutes and she was being treated as usual, like the freak she had thought that things would be different here.

"Are you part Frog then girl? Are you even a real girl?" the young blonde's questions came one after the other. It seemed like she would not stop for anyone.

"I am a real girl," Elphaba got out through her teeth.

Galinda pursed her lips thoughtfully, "It speaks," she exclaimed tauntingly. She moved away from the piano bench and crossed over towards her mother who sat still and quiet.

"Momsie, what exactly do you want me to do with it? Shall I take it for walks, or dress it up and give it treats when it's good?" Her voice grew colder and colder by the insult.

Elphaba could feel the anger inside her swelling. She knew that if Galinda wasn't shushed soon that she would explode in a fit of frustration... and maybe even of magic.

"I have a name, I am not referred to as 'it'," Elphaba hissed.

Galinda looked at her, her bright eyes sparkling at the attempt to redeem herself.

"Oh, and what is your name, frog?"

"My name is Elphaba," the green girl said in spite. "Not frog."

Galinda tilted her head as if she was considering the use of the name.

"I like frog better," she replied with a nasty smile. She then laced one of her own hands into one of her mother's, like a good child.

"Momsie, is the frog to be my slave? For if she is, she's not allowed to be seen within ten feet of me. I wouldn't want to catch the green."

"It's not contagious," pointed out Elphaba sternly. She was about ready to slap some sense into the blonde.

"I still think it's hideous," said Galinda cruelly, "Makes my skin crawl."

"You're not so pleasant yourself," shot back Elphaba and Galinda looked dumbfounded at the retort, as if she had never been told off before. She opened her mouth to retort something else when another voice was heard in the room.

"You are the Thropp child, are you not?" Mr. Upland finally intervened, silencing Galinda.

"Yes, sir," Elphaba answered hastily Mr. Upland put the newspaper down on a dusty glass table. His eyes met with Elphaba's directly and caused a shiver to go up her spine. It wasn't a scared type of chill, but one of surprise. All three of them were in such formal, uncomfortable attire she was wonder struck as to how any of them could move with such ease, without looking like porcelain dolls much less convey real, lifelike human emotions.

Galinda looked annoyed that she had been cut off.

"Daddy I wasn't-" but he heard none of it.

"Have you had the chance to unpack yet?" he asked with genuine interest. Out of the three people in the room, Elphaba took a liking to him the best. He wasn't as stiff and as proud as the women were. He seemed to actually care about her, even though he hadn't stopped Galinda's cycle of insults right as it had started, but she didn't mind. He was being kind to her now.

"No, sir. I was brought straight here," she answered.

He looked offended.

"Camilla," he called out, "Show Miss Thropp to her room at once!"

The handmaiden from before showed up again and obeyed orders immediately, leaving the three blondes alone in that strange room. She led Elphaba up the long winding staircase that was as dark as the rest of the house. The stairwell was dimly lit by the limited amount of sunlight that came in through the dirty windows.

Elphaba observed silently that the upstairs was just as unkept as the downstairs. The entire house seemed to be haunted by ghosts of the past, things were scattered around, and left lying places as though they hadn't been used in years. It struck Elphaba as odd that a family as, presumably, wealthy as the Uplands had such a careless attitude for keeping their estate looking presentable. But then again, it wasn't like anyone saw them, much less cared to gaze upon their estate. The Uplands had upheld a reputation of reclusiveness for quite some time now, though the reason was kept secret. Elphaba now thought that one of the reasons was the attitude of their snobbish daughter. Maybe it was because of the insufferable girl's horrid manners that they kept themselves shrouded in mystery and behind closed doors.

When Camilla and Elphaba finally reached the room in which she would be staying, Elphaba was glad of the time away from the family, away from Galinda.

"Well, here it is," said Camilla as if she had better things to do, "Dinner will be served in a few hours. Don't miss it or you'll get nothing."

Elphaba muttered her thank yous and then proceeded to go into the room, shutting the large dark door behind her. It was very grand, the room, but it looked just as the rest of the house did: ruined and dark.

Elphaba didn't mind it though, she figured that she wouldn't be in here much anyways.

She unpacked her things slowly, carefully choosing where to put her things for the sake of wasting time. It made her sad, though, to look at her things (clothes, books, trinkets) that had once been with her in Quadling Country and to see them in a new, unfamiliar setting. It made her long for home. She thought of Nessa, and worried about how she would fare without her. She knew that Father would take care of her, Nessa always got the most care, but Nessie was dependent upon Elphaba and everyone knew that.

Tears pricked at her eyes but she didn't dare let them fall. She had fantasized this experience a lot over the past few weeks, she admitted that much, but nothing had prepared her for this. This was so much worse than she had ever imagined it to be. She hoped that it would get better with time. Elphaba couldn't understand how a girl around her own age could be so horrible, so cruel, so cold. She could not see how she and Galinda would ever get along, how they could ever be friends.

Suddenly a knock was at her door. Elphaba opened it to find Mr. Upland standing in the hall.

"Mr. Upland, is it time for dinner already?" stammered Elphaba, her nerves standing on edge, "I hadn't thought that I'd missed it yet."

"Oh, no, dinner is still a few hours away," he said, and then he glanced into her room, "I just came to see how you were finding things. Seems that you're quite at home. How do you like it?"

Elphaba was glad of his kindness but couldn't bring herself to smile at him, "Well," she started, "It's quite different from my house. It's very dark, and very strange."

"Yes, well that's my wife's decorating gone wrong. She refuses to change anything, the stubborn woman," Mr. Upland smirked and chuckled heartily. His ease and laid back attitude made Elphaba feel comfortable, and she was glad that he was the one to greet her, and not one of the women.

"But you do like it here, don't you? We want you to feel comfortable here," Mr. Upland continued.

Elphaba nodded but didn't speak of her disdain for the dirty house nor its snobbish occupants. She didn't want to come across as rude, or ungrateful, but even still she didn't want to lie to the man. But nor did she want to be sent home for her dislike of the house.

"I'm very happy that you decided to accept our invitation. I do hope you'll learn to like it here. I know it's not what you envisioned, but I promise it won't be so bad."

Elphaba again said nothing. Mr. Upland's lips parted and he got this far off, melancholy look on his face.

"I know my daughter is not the easiest to get along with but she does have a good heart. She's… she's a lonely girl, my Galinda, and she needs some other companions besides her mother and myself," he looked straight at Elphaba now, "You'll be good for her, though. You'll be very, very good for her."

He looked at her as if she was his last chance, his last chance to do good for his little girl.

"What do you think of her, my Galinda?"

Elphaba blanched, she didn't want to tell him what she really thought of Galinda. How she thought that the blonde needed to be put in her place, or that she needed some serious manners. That would be rude. So instead she decided on a different answer.

"I think she's very pretty." And this was very true.

Mr. Upland goaded her on, "Anything else?"

"I think she's stubbornly proud and full of herself." This was crossing some sort of line but the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

But to her relief, Mr. Upland laughed and joined in.

"Yes, yes, that is very true… and partly my fault." He trailed off, that look back on his face, haunting his eyes.

"Do you think she's insulting, that she is mean?" he then asked, and a silence fell between them.

Elphaba was taken back by the bluntness of the question. It was as if he had been reading her mind.

"It's alright," he said, "I won't tell. I think she's quite insulting, if it makes you feel better. She inherited that quality from her mother."

"If we are telling the truth, then yes. She is very insulting and mean," Elphaba whispered softly in fear that the walls would hear her and tell on her.

Mr. Upland smiled encouragingly.

"It's alright. I know she doesn't have the best manners around, but, and Miss Thropp I do not mean to put this pressure on you so harshly, but I believe that's where you will come in."

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't believe I follow you, Mr. Upland," she said hesitantly.

"We've…" he corrected himself, "I've tried everything. Nannies, governesses, but no one seems to get through to her, melt her coldness. I don't even know how it happened…. I spend so much time off on business I rarely even noticed it…. Her mother's bitterness has rotten her to the core…." Mr. Upland looked angry, angry that he didn't realize Galinda's coldness beforehand.

"But then," his expression lightened, became hopeful," But then I thought, what if another girl comes and lives with us, helps Galinda realize that she shouldn't act this way. Retrain her so to speak."

Elphaba spoke up now, "But why me? Why did you pick me out of all the other girls in the land?"

Mr. Upland grew very serious now, he knelt down to look at her directly.

"I heard that you were a very special child; that you weren't like everyone else."

"You mean my skin color, don't you?" She didn't mean to get angry at him, but she loathed the people who treated her differently just because she was green.

"No, not that. I heard that you could do things that no one else can," she knew what he was referring to. The accidental times she had made things levitate, the incidents that had caused her to almost hurt her sister. She hadn't thought that anyone had heard of her secret, of her powers. But she guessed that she was wrong.

"Father said that those things that I could do were wrong. That they were evil."

"I don't believe so, Elphaba. I believe that you can help us, win her over with your powers… maybe you can even change Galinda, melt her icy heart."

"What if the damage done to Galinda is permanent, what if I can't change it. I barely know how to control it myself, I can't do it on command," Elphaba grew nervous. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this anymore.

"I'm not asking it to be done now, or ever if you want. I just want to see if you being here, your influence helps her. You can become her surrogate sister, her companion, her friend. I would never ask you to do something that you wouldn't want to do, Elphaba. And if you find that you don't want to be here anymore, you are free to leave. But please," he grabbed her hands, "please give her, give us a chance."

Elphaba pursed her lips together tightly. She knew that as long as Mr. Upland was here that he would make sure that she was happy and not miserable. He would look out for her, unlike her own family. But then there was the subject of that girl. How in Oz was she supposed to try and be her friend if all she wanted to do was insult her? This was certainly a predicament but Elphaba knew deep down she couldn't refuse. This was her last chance at redemption for Father and blowing this would be the end of everything.

She had to do this.

"Alright, I'll give her a chance."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

"Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Dinner wasn't something short of extravagant. It was all laid out there on the yellowed tablecloth like a feast fit for a king. Elphaba was placed in the seat across from Galinda, who made sure to avoid eye contact at all times. Mr. Upland sat at the head on the table, Mrs. Upland was next to him, and from there it was Galinda. Elphaba, she now realized, was on the other side of the table from the rest of the family. But she didn't mind distancing herself away from all of them. She did not mind it one bit.

Elphaba ate the delicious food ravishingly while Mrs. Upland and Galinda ate like phantoms, rarely touching anything on their plates. Mr. Upland didn't even touch his food, he seemed rather preoccupied with his thoughts to eat anything. The atmosphere was haunting. Candles flickered in the dark all around. It was quiet except for the clinking of their silverware.

"My dearest Galinda," Mr. Upland finally interjected into the quiet air of the room, "Why don't you take Elphaba on a tour of the house after dinner? I'm sure she would very interested to see where she will be living from now on."

There was a dead beat of silence before the blonde girl responded.

Galinda looked up from her full plate in calm horror.

"Must I, Father?" she looked as though it was the last thing on earth she wanted to do.

"Yes," Mr. Upland gave her a stern look and she looked rather uncomfortable to say the least.

"I don't understand why I have to do it," muttered Galinda under her breath, "I don't want to be within ten feet of that-that thing."

"Elphaba is here to be your friend, Galinda. I think you'll find her company most enjoyable once you get to know her," Mr. Upland stuck up for the new house guest.

Elphaba was glad to have Mr. Upland on her side but she was with Galinda on this one. She did not want to spend any more time with her than she had to, but then again she did promise that she would give her a chance.

Galinda sent a cool glare at Elphaba throughout the rest of dinner. Elphaba stared right back at her.

Two could play at this game.

When dinner was finally over, the plates cleared, and with the table empty, Galinda escorted Elphaba around the house. They started up the stairs, Galinda leading the way with Elphaba trailing.

It was quiet for a while. But then Galinda began talking, as if the silence made her uneasy.

"You shouldn't get used to it here, if I have my way with Father, you'll be out of this house by Friday," commented Galinda.

"Your Father likes me, I don't believe I'll be leaving here anytime soon," retorted Elphaba.

The blonde smirked, "You obviously don't know how persuasive I am. Besides, I don't understand how anyone can live with your horrid skin. I feel as though it's contagious or like you're going shed it sometime soon."

Elphaba laughed, she had heard all of those quips before.

"Shall we see if it's contagious?" And without warning, Elphaba reached out and grabbed the blonde's wrist, just wanting to scare her a little bit.

She cringed, trying to unhook her arm out of Elphaba's grasp. She looked up at Elphaba slightly horrified when she wouldn't let go.

"You're such a freak!" she hissed. Elphaba then let her wrist free, smiling triumphantly.

"It's not contagious, you idiot," pointed out the green girl as she showed Galinda that her wrist was not green.

Galinda looked at her wrist and was relieved. She then glanced up at Elphaba with the most peculiar look on her face. Elphaba couldn't read her features but she stared at Elphaba as though she had been given a shock to her system. For a brief second, Elphaba thought that she had accidentally used her magick on Galinda.

Then, with a shake of her head, Galinda's face returned to its normal, unemotional state.

"Don't do that again," she whispered. She rubbed her wrist delicately, still feeling the warmth from Elphaba's skin.

Out of all the possible reactions, that was one that Elphaba had not expected..

Without another word, Galinda turned on her heel and resumed walking up the staircase

"I don't understand why Father asked you to come, I don't need any friends. I'm perfectly content here by myself," the blonde muttered.

"He thinks that I can change you," Elphaba stated bluntly, not bothering to lie to Galinda. She figured it would be best if she knew the truth.

Galinda looked rather offended, but she did her best to hide it. The darkness helped conceal her features but Elphaba could tell that she was hurt.

"And why would he want to change me? I'm his perfect little girl, his only child," Galinda's voice held an edge of bitterness to it. Her tone, Elphaba now realized, was always very calm, very passive. She was taunting, yes, and mean but she was never angry or sad to the fullest extent of those emotions.

"He thinks your mother has corrupted you, stolen away your love."

It was in that moment that Elphaba realized that Galinda's mother had succeeded. The way Galinda talked and acted was robotic, routine, not filled with emotion. She was witnessing it right now, as she watched her. In Galinda, Elphaba saw a girl devoid of love and affection, a miserable creature.

Though she was a child, and she still did have emotions, her mother was stripping her of them day by day. She was stealing away Galinda's childhood, her present, and her future.

Galinda stopped short on the staircase and whirled around at Elphaba, her eyes fierce. Obviously she did not approve of the pity looks she was receiving from Elphaba.

"If there is one thing you need to know to live here is that the first thing you must learn about me is that I have no heart and that is nobody's doing but my own," she whispered hotly, "I choose not to be sentimental, to not be engaged because it is easier."

"Your father believes it is partly his fault," voiced Elphaba softly, "He thinks that he's had something to do with this."

"He does," came the blonde's response. It was filled with ice and coldness that even Elphaba was taken aback by her answer.

Galinda swallowed hard, she had lost her composure and she knew it. Her training kicked back in at that point and she looked at Elphaba with a calm face. The only hint of anger was within her eyes.

"My father causes my mother great unhappiness. He leaves her locked up in this house all the time, he leaves me alone in this house. He claims he's away for business but Mother doesn't believe so. Mother believes that he is not faithful to us, not faithful to her... and she..." but Galinda stopped short. Elphaba could tell she had already revealed too much for her own good.

"But why teach you to be so cold-hearted? Why take her unhappiness out on you?" pressed Elphaba. She was so close to answers, she could feel it. It was on the tip of Galinda's tongue. The blonde looked away from her in fear that she would slip out something she wasn't supposed to if she glanced at Elphaba.

"Galinda, you can tell me. I'm here to help, remember? I seldom know what's going on in this house, and if you want me to help you need to tell me everything," Elphaba pleaded. She was suddenly seeing the blonde in a new light. She was as much of a victim as she was a participant. She wasn't as cold and proud as Elphaba originally thought she was.

Her attitude wasn't her doing, she was only following orders. She was only living the life she knew.

The blonde opened her mouth to say the truth, to tell Elphaba what she needed to know.

But that was when Galinda pulled away. Literally and figuratively.

"This is my room," she pointed to the first door in the hallway, the one directly next to Elphaba's room, "Do not disturb me unless it's an emergency."

With that, she blew out the candle and retreated into her own room.

Confused, if not a bit annoyed, Elphaba shortly afterwards went into her own room. Figuring that there was no better time than now to go to bed, she slipped into her nightgown and proceeded to hide under the covers.

But she could not find the will to sleep. Her mind was abuzz with what had happened in the very short hours she had been here at the Upland's mansion.

It was all very, very strange but Elphaba herself was strange as well.

She then thought about Galinda and how the blonde child had been brought up so differently than herself and yet they had some similarities. Though she hadn't come out and said it, they were both outcasts in their own right.

It made Elphaba smile just a little to know that she had something in common with Galinda. Maybe being her friend wouldn't be so hard.

She had, after all, broken through at least the first layer of ice today with their conversation on the stairwell.

This might be the start of their unlikely friendship.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

"I stole her heart away and put ice in its place."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Feeling content with herself that she could actually see this through, Elphaba started to close her eyes when she heard the creaking of a door opening. It startled her greatly for she was not used to such noise in the late hours of the night.

Snapping her eyes open to see if it was her own door, Elphaba saw that her door had not moved an inch since she had last closed it. She assumed that the door had been Galinda's door.

Suddenly, Elphaba then started to hear voices, female voices from Galinda's room. Curiously Elphaba moved from her bed to the door that adjoined the two rooms and pressed her ear against it hard to hear better, though she knew that eavesdropping was wrong. She couldn't help herself. Maybe in listening to this conversation, she could find out the truth about what had happened between Mr. Upland and Mrs. Upland.

"You did well today in the drawing room, my dear." Elphaba guessed that this must be Galinda's mother speaking. She didn't think it was Camilla, or anyone else for that matter.

"Thank you, but it fairly was easy, Mother," replied a voice that was very clearly Galinda's. Her tone was soft, tired as if she was already done with this conversation even though it had just started.

The sound of a brush combing through hair was heard through the door. Elphaba could hear brushstroke after brushstroke.

"And what about in the stairwell, what happened there?" Mrs. Upland pressed coldly, "I thought I hear a scream."

Galinda paused. Something shifted causing a creak to erupt from the floorboards. Elphaba briefly wondered if she about to be discovered by one of the two women. She moved her position so that her feet could not been seen in the crack between the door and the floor.

"It was nothing."

Another beat of silence.

"You're lying," accused Mrs. Upland sharply.

Elphaba flinched at the tone, so icy, so cold.

Galinda made no comment and Elphaba heard the brush being thrown down onto something, a table maybe.

"What did you say to her? Did you slip up in your training? Must we go back to square one again, Galinda?"

Her mother bombarded her with these questions angrily, as if this had happened before. She did not seem to realize that Elphaba was supposedly in the next room 'sleeping.'

"I felt something, Momsie, when she grabbed at my wrist. It was like magic or something, I could just feel that she was different. She is different from the rest of them. I don't think she's here to hurt us, I think she wants to help."

There was a loud slapping sound that echoed throughout the house, which made Elphaba cringe.

"You stupid girl, don't be so blinded by your emotions! You'll never get anywhere if you let your feelings dictate how you live!" Mrs. Upland scolded Galinda. She sounded angry, bitter but she was much worse than Galinda. Her voice had been hardened by years upon years of living this cold existence. She had no chance of ever recovering from whatever set her onto this path.

Galinda at least had some hope. Or so Elphaba thought.

"The girl is here to ruin you, to ruin us. She's part of your father's plan, you don't want her to separate us now darling?" cooed Mrs. Upland now, "She'll say such terrible things of me. She'll say I've stolen away your precious little heart and put a slab of ice in its place, but that's not true, my dear. Nothing she says will be true. You must not listen to her."

"But Mother, what should I do?" Galinda asked softly,

"Treat her like you did all of the others your father brought in to help us. Treat her with contempt, hate her, loathe her, let her believe that you have a heart of ice. Treat her like this until she goes away, just like all the others"

Elphaba could hear that Mrs. Upland was pressing soft kisses to Galinda's hair.

"You are so beautiful, my child. So beautiful, and so cold. You can make her run away. You made the others run away."

"But those were grown up women, Momsie. This girl, she's my age. I don't understand how she can be-"

Galinda sounded small compared to her mother. She didn't sound as icy as she had in the drawing room. She actually sounded somewhat scared, somewhat vulnerable.

She never got to finish her sentence for Mrs. Upland interrupted her, "Darling, I told you. It's doesn't matter. Your father has been cheating on me for years, all these woman he brings to the house are his mistresses. The women he falls in love with that aren't us."

"She's my age, Mother. I don't think she's a part of that," Galinda bravely voiced her opinion.

There was another pause.

"Then she is here to destroy our relationship. To ruin your heart. To destroy my teachings for you. She'll make you feel, she'll cause you pain, my child," Mrs. Upland's voice was shaky, quivering like she was reliving some horrible part of her past.

"Is letting others in really that painful?" ventured Galinda carefully, "Elphaba doesn't seem that horrible. She seems quite nice, despite her horrid skin condition."

"My Oz, Galinda, she's already started to break you. Get rid of those thoughts immediately," growled the older blonde, "She is here to destroy us, don't let her win."

"But you never answered my question, Mother." Galinda reminded her after a few moments of silence.

Mrs. Upland sighed irritated.

"You're so inquisitive tonight, my dear. I wonder what's gotten into you. We've been through this a thousand times before."

There was silence for a moment.

"What is letting others in?" her mother posed softly.

"Defeat," Galinda recited reluctantly.

"What is love?"

"Betrayal," the girl replied.

"What is death?"

"Falling in love," the blonde child said as if she had said this a million times before.

"Very good, Galinda. I see your training has not been wasted or as corrupted as I thought," Mrs. Upland sighed in contentment.

"What should I do about El- the other girl?" Galinda had never really gotten an answer about that other than the usual one.

Her mother let out a long breath, thinking.

"I want you to try something for me, darling. A little experiment perhaps, yes?"

Elphaba leaned into the door harder to hear better.

"What do you want me to do, Mother?" Galinda asked hesitantly.

"Befriend her, become close with her, and then break her heart. After all, darling, we are only left with ourselves. Break her heart, like your father broke mine. Love her, and then betray her," Mrs. Upland sounded greedy now, as if she couldn't wait to see how things unfolded if Galinda stuck to her plan "We can't trust anyone in this world, my dear Galinda, no one but ourselves. Everyone else is bound to betray us in the end."

"But what if I-" the little blonde started but she never finished.

All Elphaba heard next was a slight gasp.

"Do not fail me, my darling. This is your test, if you fail it then we start all over again, and you and I both don't want to do that," hissed Mrs. Upland.

"No, Mother," whimpered Galinda.

Elphaba could hear the tension in that bedroom being lifted and floating away.

There was the sound of feet across the floor that Elphaba heard soon after that, and she guessed that Mrs. Upland was leaving.

"Goodnight my sweet," she whispered to Galinda, "Break their hearts, my pride and joy. Break their hearts with your beauty and cold heart, and have no mercy."

The door closed shut, and Elphaba was left in the other room feeling more confused than ever.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"Moths, and all sorts of ugly creatures, hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?"

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

When morning came around, Elphaba had fully convinced herself that what she had heard last night was all a dream. There was no doubt about it in her mind. The conversation between Galinda and her mother had been too weird to have been real. Ever since she had been a young child, she had these whimsical type visions and she made herself believe that this had just been one of those. Her head had been too excited, too jazzed up about this new house and what its secrets could be that her imagination made up an answer.

But, just to be sure, when they all went downstairs for breakfast that morning, Elphaba questioned Galinda, just to check. There was the tiniest sliver of doubt in her mind that it might not have all been a dream.

"Galinda," Elphaba caught the blonde girl on the stairs, "How did you sleep?"

The other girl turned around in a light pink nightgown, looking rather satisfied, "Fine. Why do you ask?"

This was it. Elphaba twisted one foot around the other nervously as she picked at her black shift, "Well, I thought I heard some commotion in your room. Was someone in there last night? Were you talking with someone, your mother perhaps?"

The blonde's face was perfectly blank and unreadable.

"No, it was just me."

That solidified Elphaba's suspicions, and she felt a wave of relief flood over her.

"I had a weird dream that your mother was in there talking to you, saying something about breaking my heart,"Elphaba rambled, even though she knew the blonde really didn't care.

Galinda arched an eyebrow, "What a funny dream. Do you usually visualize such fantasies?"

"Yes, they are not uncommon. Father thinks that there are usually of bad omens," Elphaba admitted to her.

There was a certain change in Galinda this morning. She seemed more attentive of Elphaba, more interested and engaged than yesterday. The green girl felt strangely drawn to her, not just because of her beauty but because of some aura that radiated from her being. Elphaba briefly wondered if she was wrong about last night, but she pushed it aside. Maybe the blonde was just being friendly.

"How terrible for you to be bestowed with such a vision. But I can assure you that there will be no heart breaking on my account. What a strange thought, Miss Elphaba," Galinda laughed it off and then slid her arm through Elphaba's.

"Would you accompany me to breakfast?" she posed.

Elphaba was wary of this. She took a step back from Galinda and looked at her intently.

"You're acting different. Why are you being so nice to me?" Elphaba asked sharply.

Galinda smiled sweetly, "I've realized upon reflection that I was terribly awful to you yesterday when I should have given you a chance. I acted harshly because that's all I know," she paused and tears bloomed in those eyes of hers, "I am sorry, very sorry Elphaba for the way I treated you."

"You called me a frog," Elphaba pointed out bitterly.

"I'm truly sorry, I haven't had much social interaction these days," apologized Galinda.

She bit her bottom lip in sorrow.

Mr. Upland's words came back to Elphaba's mind. Give her a chance. Even though her gut was screaming at her not to trust the blonde, Elphaba felt compelled to at least try.

"It's okay, I forgive you."

Galinda's face brightened up immediately and she joyously hugged Elphaba, who stiffened at the contact.

"Oh, thank you Elphaba! I do promise not to be so horrid today," the blonde swore and she once again slid her arm through Elphaba's and they made their way down to the table.

At breakfast Galinda sat directly next to Elphaba and asked her all sorts of questions. She asked her about Nessa, about her father, and about her homelife in Quadling Country. Elphaba answered them as best she could, but she was very aware of the fact that Mrs. Upland was watching with the most intense expression at their interactions.

Elphaba felt the sinking horror that Galinda had lied to her about last night, but she decided that she was going to confront the blonde girl later today about it, not when they were being watched.

Mr. Upland looked extremely satisfied that Elphaba and Galinda were getting along. A grin was spread across his face from cheek to cheek.

"You see, Larena, I told you the two of them would be best friends in no time!" he exclaimed to Mrs. Upland after breakfast was over and the girls had gone up to change.

"Father wants you and I to play around the house today. Where would you like to go? We could go the grounds, the kitchen, the library, or the drawing room?" Galinda suggested as they climbed the stairs to change into their clothes for the day.

"The library sounds fine," Elphaba responded flatly. She was already planning out how she was going to ask Galinda about last night and find out the truth. She wasn't really focused on where they were going as long as they were going to be alone.

They each changed out of their sleepwear. Galinda came out of her room in a simple maroon dress, while Elphaba wore a yet another black dress.

The blonde lead Elphaba to the library which was on one of the three floors of the staircase.

It was simply exquisite. Thousands of books were lined up on wooden shelves. Elphaba marveled at the sight. It was like heaven for her.

"It's impressive, is it not? Father takes great pride in his collection," Galinda added with a smile as she closed the door, "No one should bother us for a while. Where would you like to start?"

But Elphaba did not answer her questions and instead she got straight down to business. The green girl looked directly at Galinda.

"You lied to me this morning about what happened last night with you and your mother, why?"

Galinda's color paled and she looked rather uncomfortable. She took a few moments before she answered.

The silence was deafening.

"It will be better for both of us if I just follow my Mother's instructions and not make a fuss of it," the blonde said slowly.

"So you're going to be friends with me under false pretenses?" Elphaba's tone was angry, "I don't appreciate falseness."

Galinda swallowed hard.

"What you heard last night is true, my Mother's instructions are clear. But we don't have to play by her rules. I do not want to hurt you, Elphaba unlike I suggested yesterday and last night. I do want to be your friend... but I can't afford to not play my Mother's game," Galinda confessed with a lowered gaze.

Elphaba crossed her arms testily, "So what do you suppose we do? Continue on with this false charade or shall I leave and never come back?"

It was then that Galinda showed her first signs of anxiety. She grabbed Elphaba's wrist hard, and her eyes were pleading.

"Please don't leave. Not this time, I can't afford to fail again." Her tone was anxious, nervous. She almost sounded human.

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to be fake friends with me," Elphaba twisted her grip off.

"We can be real friends, just not when Momsie or Daddy is around. That's when we'll have to pretend. I promise I won't break your heart, you can leave before then. But please, please don't leave just yet," Galinda looked terrified at the thought of Elphaba leaving.

Galinda sighed.

"Then allow me to explain," she said softly.

"My Mother's heart has broken throughout the course of her marriage due to her paranoia and insecurities, and she believes that my father is constantly cheating on her when he goes out for business trips," Galinda took a deep breath, "So when she had me, she decided that since he was getting so much love and affection from all of those other 'supposed' women that the two women whom he would want to receive love from wouldn't, that they couldn't return his love. She's made me this cold to get back at him, to get back at all men in this world for destroying her faith in marriage and in love."

"She's programmed you to be this cold to destroy your father, to ruin you," Elphaba was trying to process all of this.

"Yes," Galinda said softly. Her hands twisted together as if she was nervous of something.

"But that's mad, that doesn't make any sense!"

"In her world, it does. That's why we never leave."

"And your father? He's been trying to fix this by having nannies and other women come here to help you but your mother thought that they were the women he was having affairs with?"

Galinda nodded.

"He said he invited me because I would be good for you, that I could help. But, Galinda, I need to know where your true loyalties lie first."

The blonde girl lowered her head.

"My dear Mother uses me as a tool, a device for her own use. I am devoted to her but I despise the woman all the same. And if I knew what love was, I'm sure I would feel it for my father. He wants what's best for me, even though I act so cold towards him."

"So this cold front you put up is for your mother, and not your own peace of mind?" Elphaba posed.

"Yes, it's for her," Galinda nodded, "Those terrible words I said yesterday weren't my doing. They were the words I knew my mother wanted to hear from me about you. I think your green skin is quite pretty, in truth."

The blonde's eyes were glistening with tears at this point. It felt so good to have everything out in the open. She felt so relieved. The cage that she had been kept in for so long felt like its hinges were finally loosening.

"You don't know how long I've waited to tell someone all of this," confessed the blonde girl, a real true smile appearing on her face.

Elphaba was still a bit uneasy about this whole thing.

"So we continue being false friends around them, but we can be real friends when we are alone?"

"If it's alright with you."

Elphaba frowned.

"Why can't you just defy your mother and not listen to her? Why do you have to obey her?" the green girl implored.

"I'm saving my defiance for another day, when I'll really need it. Like I said, it's easier to just follow her demands," Galinda said softly.

"This is mad," Elphaba uttered. She shook her head. Her mind was filled with thoughts of doubt, and she was seriously considering packing her things tonight and going home.

Galinda sensed this and stepped towards her. She then clasped her own hands in Elphaba's tightly.

"If by Lurlinemas you still feel that this is mad and that you cannot do it, I will let you leave. But please, stay still Lurlinemas."

Elphaba calculated it in her head, three months time. It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either.

Her lips pursed as she considered it. She glanced at Galinda and saw for the first time true, raw emotions in the blonde's face. Elphaba could tell that she was not faking it. She really wanted Elphaba to stay.

Three months. She could stay for three months. And if she didn't want to go through with it, she could always leave.

"Till Lurlinemas," she promised.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

"I never had one hour's happiness in her society."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Galinda was a puzzling mystery.

Ever since she revealed her true colors in the library, she had been openly more friendly to Elphaba when they were together under the watchful eyes of her parents. But when they were alone, the blonde seemed reserved, distant, as if all of her energy was used up pretending. She was quieter too, less energetic which gave Elphaba the impression that she wasn't always the lively girl she pretended to be.

"You're doing it wrong," the blonde chided Elphaba from where she lay on the bed one afternoon.

Elphaba turned from her painting, her paintbrush in one hand, her palette in the other, "What do you mean I'm doing it wrong? How can I paint wrong?" Her white smock was stained with blotches of gold and silver paint.

Galinda pushed herself up on the bed to look at Elphaba, smirking all the while.

"Your brushstrokes aren't proper," she pointed out as she moved towards Elphaba's canvas, grabbing a spare brush along the way. She didn't seem to mind getting so close to the painting, obviously not caring whether her new sharp blue dress got ruined or not.

She showed Elphaba how to do it, her delicate hand waving the brush across the page masterfully.

"Thanks," muttered Elphaba and she resumed painting, using her own awkward brushstrokes just to mess with Galinda.

The blonde just scrunched up her face and ignored it.

"What is that supposed to be anyways?" asked the blonde girl as she lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.

"A bird cage," said Elphaba, "I saw them all the time in the village. I thought I'd try my hand at painting them."

"Well," the blonde girl giggled,"you're trying I'll give you that."

Elphaba wanted to smack her for that comment. But Galinda only laughed and the light atmosphere was back.

"You should try your hand at drawing me sometime," challenged Galinda as she twisted a curl of hair around her fingers, "I wonder how you would depict me."

"I couldn't paint you, you're too beautiful I could never do you justice." Elphaba said with her back turned to her.

"Mhm, that is true. I am too stunning for paint to picture me properly. Well, then, we shall have to think of something else." Galinda gave Elphaba a small smile.

There was a few moments of silence between them before anyone spoke.

"Does your mother suspect anything? About us?" Elphaba changed the topic to something that had been on her mind ever since she had been told the truth. That had been about a month now.

"No, not a thing. Which I guess, is credit to both of our acting abilities," Galinda sighed thoughtfully.

"Good."

Elphaba's eyebrows burrowed as she tried to get the details of the feathers of her bird just right. She was interrupted by the blonde uttering her name.

"Elphaba?" Galinda sounded small, distant, reserved.

"Yes, Galinda?" Elphaba turned to face her. She was still lying on the bed, her face looking up at the ceiling. Her tone concerned Elphaba.

"Are you planning to leave us?"

A pause.

"I don't know," Elphaba answered truthfully.

"Is it because of me?" She picked her head up, her golden curls slightly frizzed because of the bedsheets. Her eyes shone brightly, and her bottom lip trembled.

"No, it's not because of you. You have been wonderful, besides our first encounter. Believe it or not, I've actually grown to enjoy your company, Miss Galinda." Elphaba smiled.

"It's Mother then, isn't it?" Galinda said that phrase as if she had said it a lot in the past.

"We've never had anyone stay this long before," the blonde went on, looking down at the blankets on the bed as if she was afraid to look at Elphaba, "And I know I haven't been the most welcoming but I fear I've grown to... to..." She faltered in finishing her sentence.

Elphaba didn't need to hear the rest. She could fill in the blanks.

"Miss Galinda, have you grown to care about me?" She sounded genuinely shocked.

Galinda scoffed, "What an idea! No, I care for no one but myself, you know that."

Elphaba put down her brush and palette, "You have," she exclaimed incredulously, "Galinda, you really have grown to care about me. I can see it in your face!"

Galinda's face twitched as though she was struggling with her inner demons. Her breathing quickened.

"I've told you before Elphaba, I care for no one but me. I have not grown to care for you. You could leave tomorrow morning for all I care!" she snapped most calmly.

The green girl's heart sank at those words.

Galinda swallowed hard, glancing at Elphaba's hurt face. Then the blonde ran out of the room. Elphaba was left speechless.

She knew that Galinda had been trying to break through the barriers her mother had put up, trying to break through that layer of ice in her heart. But, as always, she had failed and had retreated into that Ice Queen persona she used. Elphaba always felt useless because she couldn't do a thing to change it.

She hesitantly followed her after discarding her smock, using the sounds of her footsteps as a guide. She found her in her mother's room which was just a few doors down.

Elphaba couldn't see Galinda because of the way the door was positioned but she could see Mrs. Upland. She coddled the young girl in her arms, having nothing but soothing words for her.

Elphaba felt disgusted. Every time Galinda revealed her true feelings in one way or another, she would run off to her Mother as if she was afraid of revealing too much and had to be consoled.

The green girl didn't understand it. The blonde had confessed to her quite frequently that she wanted to change, that she didn't want to be this cold but whenever an opportunity arose for her to change herself she would back off. Galinda didn't know how to feel, how to live and Elphaba couldn't give her the guidance to do so. She wondered if it was time to tell Galinda about her magic, maybe that would get her to change and try harder. Maybe she should tell Galinda of her ability...

"Is this task too hard for you, Galinda?" Mrs. Upland's sharp voice disrupted Elphaba's thoughts, "Why are you so uninspired? You usually have these women packing after a month, why is this one causing difficulties?" Larena Upland asked her daughter.

"It... It takes time, Mother. I haven't gotten close enough to her to break her heart," answered Galinda.

Mrs. Upland stroked her hair, "You seemed drained, my dear. You should rest up, you have a lot of work to do... I want her out of her by Lurlinemas."

Her demand seemed like a death sentence to Elphaba.

"And what if she isn't?" Galinda asked quietly.

"Then I'll get rid of her myself, and we start all over again with whatever girl your Father brings to us next," Mrs. Upland cupped Galinda's chin and kissed her forehead.

The blonde girl left the room, and headed for her own bedroom when Elphaba pulled her aside into a vacant room. She knew she had to tell her now. Things were getting too risky for her not to.

"Elphaba, what is it? I'm feeling rather exhausted, I would like to go sleep for a while," Galinda snapped at her.

"I've been reading in the library about this type of magic that I think can help you," she finally let out the secret she had been holding in for months.

"Magic?" Galinda looked rather unimpressed, "And who are you going to find that is going to use magic to help me?"

Elphaba looked at her feet and then back up at Galinda with a small smile.

"I know I haven't told you about this until now and I probably should have brought it up earlier, but I have magic, Galinda. And I want to help you."

"You? You have magic?" Another scoff. Another eye roll.

"I can show you, watch," Elphaba had been practicing in her bedroom, she knew she could do simple things on command.

She concentrated hard and the lamp on the table before her lifted into the air, hovered for a bit, and then sank back down in its place.

"I know it's not much," Elphaba said apologetically.

Galinda shook her head, her eyes still sparkling with awe from the trick. In her eyes shone a new hope, the promise of something great. If Elphaba could do this to a lamp, maybe she really could help thaw her icy heart, maybe she could make her feel love.

"No," she said,"It's amazing, Elphaba."

The green girl beamed at the unexpected praise.

"How long have you been able to do that?" inquired Galinda with keen interest, her eyes still glued to the lamp as if it might float again.

"I've always had the ability. Father didn't think it could be used for good though, so he made me hide it."

The blonde girl frowned in disagreement.

"I don't understand why. Magic can be used to help people, and you want to help me. It doesn't seem like you have ulterior motives."

"But magic is dangerous, unpredictable, Galinda you should realize that," Elphaba sought out to try and warn the girl, even though she was excited about the possibility too. She wanted to reveal the horrible things that had happened in her past because of her magic, just to warn her that it could be dangerous but it seemed like Galinda did not want to listen.

"It doesn't matter, not to me," she said curtly, as if she would get her way whether Elphaba decided to help or not.

"I need to be trained first, so it might not happen for a while..." Elphaba mentioned. She glanced at her hands. Though she had done remarkably well with the lamp, there was still so much she needed to learn.

Galinda's eyes faded ever so slightly.

"How long?" Her voice was ice.

"A while. They don't just teach magic at any ordinary school."

"Well," Galinda sighed, "Which school can you learn it from?" She seemed impatient, her lips pursed in a tight line.

Elphaba looked down at her feet and then back up at Galinda.

"Well, there is this one school that has a renowned sorcery program, it's called Shiz University."

Galinda looked determined, and didn't seem to notice or care about Elphaba's hesitance in her words.

"Excellent," she beamed, her features softening "I'll have Father arrange for us both to be enrolled immediately." She turned to leave right then and there, but Elphaba stopped her.

"Galinda, did you hear what I said? It's a University, we can't go there for at least five years. The youngest age they take is seventeen."

The blonde didn't look at her, she didn't turn back around but Elphaba could tell that the news had devastated her. She didn't have to look at her to know that. Her shoulders tensed up, her petite hands curled into delicate fists.

"What if that's too long? What if by then, it's too late for me?" The words escaped her lips in a faint whisper.

Elphaba's heart sank with Galinda's. They both knew that that was a real possibility.

"Galinda, we can't afford to think like that."

She reached out and put her hand on the blonde's shoulder but the smaller girl shrugged it off.

"Galinda, please!" begged Elphaba, "I'll find another way, I can-" but the blonde was already walking away.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

She was proud and insulting, and you wanted to go away from her. Don't you remember?

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Despite their combined best efforts, Galinda's ice queen ways proved to be too deeply engrained in her personality for her to change her ways. It seemed almost impossible.

Everyday at their lessons, Elphaba would work with Galinda to try and change her ways. She'd hold her hand, link arms, lean her head on her shoulder. But every time Galinda would retreat into her cold existence and snap at Elphaba or run off.

Elphaba observed it all, feeling as useless as ever. She knew that Galinda was attempting to not listen to her mother's teachings, but the older woman had been spending excessive amounts of time with the young girl ever since they had talked about Shiz.

It got to the point where Elphaba barely even saw Galinda anymore.

Their painting and piano lessons had come to an abrupt halt. Galinda and Larena started eating meals at odd hours of the day so that Elphaba and Galinda never ate together. The blonde's door was always shut and locked, even though Elphaba could hear the two women in there talking. She could hear for herself what lessons in cruelty and coldness Galinda was learning but she could not stop it. Elphaba was powerless to cease the teachings of Mrs. Upland.

All she could do was wait until Galinda was allowed to converse with her again.

As the weeks wore on, Elphaba had an abundance of time to herself. She mostly stayed in the library, reading through the collection of old books, just to pass the time. When she had found the numerous volumes on magic, she had eagerly immersed herself with them. But now she felt as if she could recite them from memory. She now was tired of them.

She hadn't dared to try out any of the spells, but the knowledge of them made her anxious, excited and she yearned to discuss it with Galinda. But the blonde girl never came to see her. Elphaba never saw anyone except Mr. Upland who was trying his best to make her comfortable and welcome in the ice castle they called home.

"It's almost Lurlinemas, Elphaba," Mr. Upland commented to her one morning as he sipped his coffee.

"When were you thinking about heading back home to visit your family?"

Elphaba nibbled absentmindedly on her toast, "I was thinking about leaving on Friday if that's alright with you. And then I would be back next Tuesday, the day after Lurlinemas.

"Good, good. We all will be glad to have you back," he said, nodding his head.

Elphaba smiled at him thankfully for his kind words. Galinda was lucky to have a father like him. He was a decent man, just trying to raise his daughter and control his crazy wife.

Elphaba had grown rather fond of Mr. Upland in the few months she had been here.

"How do you all celebrate the holidays?" she asked, feeling compelled to discuss it with him since he had asked her about her plans.

"Oh, well. A little of this, a little of that. But this holiday season I'm afraid I shall be on a business trip Saturday through Monday." Mr. Upland said with deep regret.

"Oh, how very sad for you," Elphaba lamented. But she could only imagine how miserable Lurlinemas would be for Galinda, all alone in this house with only her mother for company. Elphaba felt sorry for her just thinking about it.

"Yes, well, I'll make it up to my girls on Lurlinemas. I always try to, anyways."

Elphaba thought his gesture was commendable. Her own father had never once tried to make any uncelebrated birthdays or holidays up, at least not to her anyways. It was nice that Mr. Upland tried.

He left the table shortly after. Elphaba wandered back up to her room once she had finished her breakfast. The house was deathly still and quiet, as usual but now she had gotten accustomed to the silence.

She opened the door to find the mysterious young blonde sitting on her bed. Her complexion was snow white, almost translucent. Her face was horridly blank. She appeared as though all the life had been sucked out of her. Elphaba gazed upon her with pity, she looked so much more older than she was, so much more lifeless.

"I haven't seen you in a while," the blonde girl said softly, bringing her eyes to look up at Elphaba.

"Your mother has kept you away from me," Elphaba stately plainly. She did not want to play these games with Galinda, not today.

Galinda looked down at her hands which were tightly gripping her yellow dress. Her fingers were clenched as if she was holding on for her life. Her face was expressionless, tired, weak. She looked void of all emotion.

"She wants to speak with you before you leave," The blonde whispered the request so softly Elphaba almost didn't hear it.

Of course upon hearing the demand, the green girl made a face. She was confused. In the three months she had been here, not once had Mrs. Upland reached out to talk with her, to get to know her, and now this? It was all very strange but then again, here in the Upland house, strangeness wasn't uncommon.

"Why?"

Elphaba glared at Galinda intently as if she could coax the answer out of her.

Galinda bit her lip, "I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders but Elphaba could tell she was lying.

Her movements were listless, uncaring. She had turned into the cold monster she had feared to be and there was no turning back. Elphaba could see it in her eyes that the warmth in Galinda had been sucked out of her. There was no smiling on her face today, only a tight line.

"What has she done to you?" Elphaba asked in horror as she gazed upon Galinda's face. She looked so sad. It pained Elphaba to see her like this.

Her bubble gum lips parted to speak but she did not give an answer to Elphaba's question.

"You should go see her sooner rather than later," was all the blonde said before getting up and retreating back into her own room.

Elphaba went to go follow Galinda, but instead she came face to face with Mrs. Upland.

The older woman didn't look at all surprised to see her. Her eyes glinted with the slightest sign of amusement.

"Hello, Mrs. Upland," stammered Elphaba.

"Elphaba." She then slid her arm through one of Elphaba's, "Walk with me, will you dear?"

She had no choice but to obey. They walked down the hallway and then went into her room. Elphaba did not feel comfortable with one bit of this. She was anxious and fidgety.

"I've heard from Galinda that you are planning on leaving on Friday. Is this true?" She sat down gracefully on her bed, looking at Elphaba with an ever so suspicious look on her face.

"Yes, I am," Elphaba answered slowly as if she didn't understand what Mrs. Upland was getting at. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, wishing she was anywhere else but there.

A pretty smile spread across the older woman's face, and she fixed her hair which was done up in a tight bun. She then adjusted the buttons on her pristine white dress. Elphaba noticed that every move.

"And are you planning on returning?" Her fingers slid to the back of her neck, tangling themselves in the whisps of her hair that weren't on top of her head.

Her smile was startling and Elphaba was thrown off by the question.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Elphaba narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Mrs. Upland's smile disappeared from her face and her eyes grew sharp as well.

"Well, it's just you and Galinda haven't really been getting along. I think it's time you find better employment, Miss Thropp."

"You mean better employment elsewhere," Elphaba spat bitterly.

Larena Upland looked up in mock apology.

"It seems only fitting dear."

"Fitting or not, I want to stay. I believe I can help Galinda," protested the green girl.

"Galinda doesn't need help," Mrs. Upland snapped icily. Her eyes flashed but Elphaba was not afraid of her. Intimidated yes, but not afraid.

"Yes she does. She needs to get away from you. You are the one who is ruining her. You think you are helping her but you're killing her. You're taking away her life so that you can live through her."

Mrs. Upland looked as though Elphaba had slapped her instead of yelled at her.

"You do not get to tell me what you think I am doing to my daughter! I am protecting her, protecting her from the outside world!" Larena said coolly, though her tone was sharp.

"She doesn't love you!" Elphaba blurted out. She hadn't meant to say those words but they had slipped past her tongue before she could stop them.

Mrs. Upland's face dropped. She let down her guard for just a moment. Her fingers shook ever so slightly, and her eyes remained wide as if she couldn't believe what was repeating through her head.

"Do you remember," she asked a little while after, her musical voice quivering, "when you first came here. You didn't like Galinda at all. You two hated each other. You thought of her as proud, insulting... what happened to those thoughts?"

"I got to know the real Galinda, not the cold one you put on display to drive away strangers," Elphaba boldly exclaimed.

To her surprise, Mrs. Upland laughed.

"You are different than the rest of them, she was right," mused the older blonde quietly.

Her dull eyes looked up at Elphaba curiously.

"Fine," she said at last, "You are allowed to stay... but only because I like a challenge. And if my daughter has grown fond of you, I will gladly see how long that lasts," she smiled a sickly sweet grin, "But you must know dear, no amount of affection will win her heart. You can try, but my Galinda is ice cold. She'll drive you away eventually, like she does with everyone else."

Elphaba stood up straight and looked at Larena right in the eyes.

"I hope she drives you away too, at least then she can have a chance of being happy."

She didn't wait to hear a response. She ran through the door and didn't look back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

"What was fit company for you once would be quite unfit company for you now."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Sooner than she realized it, Elphaba was on the train back to Quadling Country to visit her family for Lurlinemas. She had said her goodbyes to Galinda and Mr. Upland, promising that she would be back before they knew it. Galinda had been rather cold and distant, not even glancing up at her whereas Mr. Upland gave her a heartily hug goodbye.

The snow was falling rapidly outside of the train and Elphaba took it as welcoming sign. It would be interesting to see how things were going to play out at home.

She had received the occasional letter from Nessarose every month, but there hadn't been much in it. Nothing exciting, according to her sister, had been going on. Of course, the younger girl had gushed about how much she missed Elphaba, and how she was looking forward to her return but there wasn't anything else but that.

By the time she got home, it was already the middle of the afternoon. Peering into the distance as her carriage moved forward, she saw Nessarose waiting in the garden, sitting in her wheelchair. Always the beautiful one, Nessa's youthful face held no signs of blemishes, her eyes were clear and thoughtful. She looked just as she had when Elphaba had left, if not prettier.

"Fabala!" the younger Thropp girl cried as Elphaba disembarked from the carriage and ran to greet her sister.

"Nessa!" Elphaba hugged the girl tightly. When she stood up again, the ever present figure of her father was there, lurking over her.

"Hello Father," the green girl said solemnly as she picked up her bags from the ground. Her father only nodded at her, that was enough.

The silence was broken by Nessarose.

"Oh, Elphaba I'm so glad you're home for Lurlinemas. We have a grand feast for you tonight!"

The younger brunette looked genuinely happy that Elphaba was home. The green girl could only have imagined how lonely these past months had been for Nessarose, though and she did not miss this, she noticed the religious beads hanging around her sister's neck. She was glad that her sister had found something to soothe her loneliness but she was uneasy as to how much Nessarose had clung to her stern faith to the Unnamed God.

"I look forward to it, let me just unpack first," Elphaba made her way to her old room, surprised to find that nothing had been touched since she left.

After unpacking the few things she had brought over, she went downstairs to find that a large feast had, indeed, been laid out for Elphaba, courtesy of Nessa's constant insistence.

Elphaba was grateful for the seemingly endless amount of food for it was all rather delicious but she couldn't help but wonder what she would be doing if she was back in Galinda's company.

Her thoughts were occupied on the miserable blonde instead of enjoying the family she had in front of her.

"You're quiet tonight, Elphaba," Nessarose didn't miss a beat. Elphaba looked up to find her sister's gaze on her face.

"There's just a lot on my mind. But it feels good to be back," Elphaba said as she put down her cup.

"How are things going in that house?" Frex asked forcibly. He looked at her intently.

"Fine," Elphaba answered, "They treat me very well, and are pleased with my work."

"Good, good," grunted Frex.

"I've missed you so much, Fabala," said Nessa as she linked hands with her sister, smiling at her, "Things haven't been the same without you. How can you bear it being in that lonely house?"

"It's not all that lonely, I have their daughter Galinda to keep me company."

Nessarose cleared her throat.

"They're all rather odd, aren't they Elphaba? The Uplands I mean." she played with her utensils absentmindedly.

"They are very kind, I don't know where you heard such things, Nessie," Elphaba's tone told Nessarose to drop the subject and she did.

The rest of the feast was rather silent and reflective.

After dinner, Elphaba and Nessarose retired into their separate rooms without any more words spoken between them. It seemed as though Nessa knew what was going on with Elphaba more than the green girl did herself.

It was on the last day of her visit that Nessa decided to finally speak up about her concerns, elaborate on them more than she had at dinner.

"Are you really going back?" she questioned as they sat in the parlor that afternoon.

The room got very quiet after her question had lingered in the air for a while.

Elphaba looked at Nessa sharply forgetting about the book she had been reading, "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

Nessarose glanced down at her hands, biting her bottom lip carefully as if to keep back the comments she had.

"I was merely wondering."

The green girl sat up straighter and narrowed her eyes at her sister. She closed the book.

"If you have something to say, Nessie, then say it."

The younger brunette looked up.

"I don't think you should go back there." Her voice was soft but firm.

Elphaba arched a critical eyebrow.

"And why not?" her voice was harsh.

Nessa avoided eye contact skillfully by casting her gaze on her shoes.

"There are rumors about that household and its occupants that are not very favorable," she said quietly.

"Since when have you been one for rumors Nessa?" asked Elphaba bitterly.

"I merely mean to say that you should be careful, none of them are very trustworthy... I would hate it if your soul came to be corrupted because of them," Nessa added as she fingered at her cross delicately.

"You should be careful of the people whom you listen to, Nessarose. Whatever foolishness they have put in your head, discard it from your memory now for it isn't true."

Nessarose held her head high, unresolved.

"They say that the Galinda girl is a freak, that she has no emotions, maybe even that she has a heart of ice for she has no soul. It's all very strange, Elphaba. You can't blame me for worrying about you getting to know the likes of such a girl."

"She is no more of a person than I am, and I assure you that I am more of a freak than she is, Nessa." Elphaba spat back.

"I'm concerned about you, you're acting differently and you've only been gone three months," the younger girl tried to put her hand in Elphaba's but the green girl withdrew from her touch, "Imagine how you will be if you go back!"

"Your concern is admirable Nessie but it's not going to change my mind." Elphaba stood up to leave.

"Father shares my feelings too, we just want what's best for you." Nessarose's eyes sparkled with genuine care but Elphaba was too angry to look that closely.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of her life and each of them were all connected to Galinda and that strange house. She couldn't imagine a life not without the blonde. She was stuck, and people were starting to notice but Elphaba couldn't break away from Galinda. Her job wasn't finished yet... though Elphaba was gathering the feeling that her mission with Galinda might never be done completely.

It was funny to her, and she let a hoarse laugh escape her lips as the thought crossed her mind, that three months ago she figured her and Galinda to be bitter enemies and now Elphaba was leaving the life she knew to devote herself even more to the blonde.

"Don't worry about me, Nessa I can take care of myself."

Elphaba walked towards the door.

"Oz, you are attached to her, aren't you?" Nessarose didn't wait for a response, "If this is goodbye then, Fabala I wish you the best... I do hope you're happy with the choice you're making."

Nessarose's tone was bitter and resentful, like the harsh slamming of a door that echoes throughout time.

It hurt Elphaba to leave Nessarose but she could not pull herself away from Galinda, especially not now when the blonde needed her the most.

"I'll write," she promised her younger sister. Her fingers touched the doorknob.

"I won't," came back Nessa's reply.

For a brief moment, Elphaba grieved for the lost connection with her sister but it seemed apparent that the degree of separation between the two of them was too great to overcome.

She lamented the relationship for but a minute and then she walked out of the room to catch her train.

The train ride back to the Upland's mansion was filled with regret and sadness. Elphaba felt sorry for leaving Nessa on such bad terms. She felt sorry for having left her alone in that house with Father. But Elphaba had to make her own choices and Nessa had to as well. And it seemed to be very clear where Nessarose stood with her now.

It had hurt to see how resentful her sister had grown to be because of her absence, how Nessarose had seen that Elphaba had grown to have a connection with Galinda instead of her. Elphaba realized on the train that Nessa had come to her own conclusion that Elphaba must have developed a sisterly bond with Galinda, much like the one they used to have.

Elphaba promised that she would make it up to her one day, but that day was not today.

After sorting out all of her feelings, Elphaba felt hopeful about returning to the Upland residence. She had a new found energy about her that radiated confidence, or at least that's what she told herself to keep her spirits up.

In truth, Elphaba had no idea what would await for her at the mansion, but as she stepped off of the platform and found the carriage she felt strangely at peace.

"Here goes nothing," she said softly to herself as she ascended into the carriage with her luggage, "Back to the Ice Palace."

But she wasn't dreading it, actually Elphaba was quite looking forward to seeing Galinda again, even if it meant dealing with her terrible mood swings and her coldness. The ride to the house was quick and easy and as Elphaba gazed upon the snow covered house, she felt a familiar chill run through her bones.

The lamp-post was burning but the house itself was void of any light. The snow swept over the building like it was garnishing it, quite perfect for the holiday season.

But there was something not right here.

Maybe it was the fact that she saw no figures moving through the curtains, or that she heard no voices of welcome from anywhere.

She opened the front door to be greeted to eery silence and her suspicions came true.

The atmosphere felt like lead weighing against her, like a heavy cloud of sadness was hovering above the household.

Elphaba had experienced this type of situation before and her heart plunged down to her stomach in fear of finding out what exactly caused this sort of sadness.

With each step echoing throughout the empty halls, Elphaba's fear grew. She knew this sadness, it was the sadness of death... she had felt it when her mother had died and she recognized it now. It filled the air with a heaviness and darkened everything in its path.

Elphaba climbed up the stairs hurriedly, her terror mounting. It was so quiet, so still. She wondered briefly if Larena had finally gone insane and killed Galinda out of anger for her failures.

"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead," she repeated as she nearly broke the knob off of Galinda's door when she entered the room.

To her utter relief she found the blonde sitting on her bed quietly, like a doll propped up in its case.

Her head was down, her curls around her shoulders. Her attire was all black and Elphaba knew that was a bad sign.

"Galinda?" Elphaba said softly dropping her bags where they lay and sitting down next to the blonde, "What's happened? The house was so quiet, I got scared that no one was here, that you had left."

It took Galinda a few seconds to look up, but when she did Elphaba got a good look at her face.

Her skin was pale, paler than she had ever seen it before, and her lips were chapped and bleeding probably from the cold. Her eyes, though, it was her eyes that told Elphaba the news. They shone with a coldness, a glossiness but even still Elphaba knew what the blonde was going to say before she said it. Besides, Galinda never would have looked this upset if her Mother had died.

"It's Father," the blonde's voice was void of all emotion, "His carriage was in an accident yesterday..." She took a deep breath.

"He's dead, Elphaba."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

She reserved it for me to restore the desolate house, admit the sunshine into the dark rooms, set the clocks a'going and the cold hearths a blazing, tear down the cobwebs, destroy the vermin.

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

"I don't know what to say, Galinda," Elphaba started slowly, "I'm so sorry."

The familiar pang of grief that had visited her once before when her own mother had died returned again.

She tried to clasp one of Galinda's hands in her own but the blonde girl pulled away sharply as if she didn't want to be touched. The moonlight crossed her pale skin like a light and Elphaba saw that the blonde's hand was trembling just slightly.

"It's Glinda now," she said bitterly out into the open air.

It was like a smack in the face to the green girl.

Elphaba thought she might have misheard. Her brow furrowed as she tried to think on what she had just heard. Had Galinda mispronounced her own name?

"What? What did you say?" Elphaba asked, her ears at the ready.

The other girl looked at her with eyes of glass, her hands still shivering. Elphaba did notice that the room now had a chill to it.

"I said it's Glinda now. My father was the one who insisted that I be called Galinda. Mother always did prefer the name Glinda, she said it sounded more regal." She bit her lip, "So it's Glinda now."

Elphaba stared at the blonde, this Glinda with a wordless expression on her face.

"But by getting rid of your name, you're essentially getting rid of your father Galinda, you can't do that! It's not fair!"

Elphaba knew exactly what the blonde was trying to do, and she wasn't going to allow it.

"I won't let you forget your father," she exclaimed in defiance.

The blonde didn't look the least bit remorseful, a typical reaction from the cold girl.

"It's not up to you, Elphaba. If I want to change my name, I will," the blonde said resolutely, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And I would be fine if I knew this was your doing, but I know your Mother put you up to this," fired back Elphaba.

Glinda made no comment to fight with her.

"Please just stop," she pleaded, "It's just a stupid name. You're getting yourself all worked up about something so trivial."

"Your father was not trivial to you, Galinda," the blonde scowled at her, "I can't believe you."

Glinda looked at her with a chiseled expression, her lips tight, face tense.

"Maybe you should go then," got out the blonde quietly, "Just leave me alone."

Elphaba stood up from the bed angrily. Angry at Nessa for shutting her off, angry at Galinda for falling into her mother's trap time and time again, and she was angry that Mr. Upland had died.

All of these emotions led to her fingertips releasing spurts of magic into the air, which as soon as she realized that it was happened; it frightened her.

"If that's what you want then, fine! I will," Elphaba turned away from her and slammed the door, if only to keep the blonde safe from her powers.

Once she got out of the room, her powers calmed down and her fingertips no longer gleamed with magic. Elphaba sighed, full of relief.

A faint sound came to her ears and Elphaba almost didn't hear it at first. She wasn't sure of what she was hearing... she thought it to be nothing at first.

But she turned around just in case...and it was just in time to see the blonde girl's walls crumble and break down from where she sat on the bed. The crack left open by the door not closing all the way allowed her to see Glinda, though the blonde was unaware Elphaba could see her.

She could tell by the shaking of her shoulders that Glinda was crying... that she clearly upset and needed comfort. Elphaba was glad that she wasn't wrong about the girl being all stone and ice, that she actually had a heart. But she wasn't so sure of going back in there after the blonde had all but kicked her out nor did she know if her powers would behave.

So she went to go to find Mrs. Upland, promising to check on Glinda later.

The hallways were dark and hauntingly still for the windows were covered with snow. No light shone through and it made Elphaba all the more apprehensive and nervous. Her skin was pricked with goosebumps.

There was a light, though, peeking through the crack of Mrs. Upland's door and Elphaba opened it slowly.

At first Mrs. Upland's back was turned towards her, and all Elphaba could see of her was the form of her bright red dress and golden hair. She paid no attention to the sound of the door opening, rather she seemed lost in her own reflection.

"Why is it that you look so cheerful and your daughter so miserable?" Elphaba asked once she was inside the room.

The older woman turned.

"I was wondering when you would be back," she said softly as she twirled a delicate loose strand of hair around her finger. She looked down at her shoe, "Did Glinda tell you the news?"

"It was the first thing she said to me," Elphaba answered her stiffly.

"She'll bounce back soon enough," Larena said dismissively.

Elphaba stared at the older woman with utter horror.

"How can you say such a thing?" Elphaba scolded, "She's upset, she's devastated."

"It will pass," Larena sighed, glancing at Elphaba and then back towards her mirror. Her reflection looked passive, as if she did not care. It matched her voice perfectly.

Words bubbled at her lips but Elphaba couldn't find the right phrase to say to Larena Upland. Anger was fuming in her body and she felt her magic tingling in her fingertips again.

But she willed herself not to, not now... there would come a day though when Larena Upland would get a taste of her own medicine, but it wasn't today.

Fighting her instincts, Elphaba turned on her heel and left quite abruptly without another word.

She spent a long time in the hallway, with her magic swirling on around her, the lights flickering on and off. She was growing fearful of herself, of what Mrs. Upland and Glinda could cause her to do. She was afraid of being left in this house alone with them and yet she had such a devotion to Glinda, she felt as though she couldn't bear to leave.

The blonde needed her now more than ever, that was clear. But at what cost?

Elphaba finally calmed down after some time, the feelings of anger and hate dispelled from her body. She was no longer angry, but was quite numb, quite unfeeling. She briefly wondered to herself if this was how Glinda felt all the time...

When she found the blonde girl again, the tears had dried from her eyes and she sat listlessly on her bed, quietly, numbly.

"Glinda," said Elphaba softly when she entered the room, one hand on the door frame. The tingling in her fingers had now subsided.

Those blue eyes locked on Elphaba's green skin.

"Glin," Elphaba tiptoed forward slowly towards the blonde girl.

"Did Mother scare you away finally? Are you planning to say goodbye now?" Glinda's voice was hoarse, sad and she did not tear her eyes away from the green girl.

"No, no I'm not saying goodbye. And I don't plan on leaving either... I know what this feels like Glinda. I've been here before, and I can help... if you want me to stay."

Glinda swallowed and stared at the window in front of her, watching the snow fall. For a while she did not say anything. She did not move. Elphaba moved to sit on the bed, carefully linking one hand between one of Glinda's, just to show her that she was here for her.

"You can stay..." the blonde whispered after a long time of silence, "I want you to stay."

Elphaba looked down at the blonde, who had now curled herself up next to Elphaba in the most innocent of ways.

"You do?" Elphaba could not conceal her surprise.

Glinda nodded as her head rested against Elphaba's shoulder.

"You're the only one who has stayed this long... I would hate for you to leave now." The blonde's voice was so soft that Elphaba had to strain to hear her.

"What about your mother?" Elphaba asked, "She won't be happy to hear that I'm staying."

Glinda sighed, "I'll deal with her," and there was an edge in her tone.

"We could run away, you know... you don't have to stay here," Elphaba suggested quietly as her hand still held Glinda's.

"That would be giving her what she wanted... and she'd only drag me back here. No, it's better to play by her rules and then wait for an opportunity to get out." Glinda sounded so broken, so defeated that Elphaba curled up even closer to her.

"But you are so miserable here, my sweet. You deserve to be happy," the green girl murmured.

"If you're here, then I'm happy." A small smile came to the blonde's face.

Elphaba's lips puckered as if she wasn't too keen on believing Glinda's words.

"Alright," she resigned rather reluctantly, "If you say so."

Glinda looked up at Elphaba, "Thank you," she said softly.

Elphaba smiled at her, not saying any more words.

She was glad that the blonde trusted her so, but she more-or-less felt like she had just signed her soul over to the devil himself.

But only time would tell if that was true or not.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

"But she was so much more changed, was so much more beautiful."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Glinda held the train tickets in her hand and stood resolutely across from her mother.

"We're going and that's that. You can't stop us," said the blonde.

Larena Upland pursed her lips. Her golden hair had grayed in the last five years... her skin had puckered but she was still menacing, if not intimidating in her old age.

The smaller blonde didn't even flinch at Larena's gaze... and Elphaba, well, she avoided it altogether, casting a glance at her combat boots and then at her old hand-me-down navy dress that hung too big on her frame. Her bulky bag was held in front of her body, whereas Glinda had placed her suitcases on the floor. She had already put the labels on them that read: Shiz University.

"You're not ready yet, dear. You still have so much to learn. No, no you're not going," Larena took a sip of her tea from where she sat on an old dusty armchair in the living room.

"We are going to Shiz, Mother," declared Glinda shrilly, "It's what Father would have wanted."

"Your father was a fool, didn't I teach you that?" snapped Larena as she slammed down her teacup, nearly breaking the piece of china in the process, the loud clink rang out through the hall, "He knew nothing of what was good for you! I do!"

Both girls knew that the "Father" card was useless to use on Larena but it had gotten the desired effect out of her.

"You want me to be a lady, right Mother? Because if so, then I need to go out into society and learn how to be one," Glinda tried to reason with her, her silk voice never raising above the volume of conversation. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly at her side.

"You can learn everything you need to know right here. There's no need to send you out into that cruel world," growled Mrs. Upland.

The carriage's horses that stood in the front of the house neighed impatiently.

"If you want me to get better then I need to practice, and what better way than to send me to Shiz? I'll write you everyday... I promise I won't forget about you."

Elphaba could sense the tension rising in the air. The two blondes had been at it about this since Glinda had suggested it a year ago, when she had found the envelope full of money that her father had called, "Money for Shiz."

Ever since then Glinda had been desperate to go, desperate to leave this house and her mother. Though she had only revealed that to Elphaba and Elphaba alone up until last week, when she had told Larena that she had arranged everything herself so that the two girls could go.

Mrs. Upland had been livid to say the least, it was no surprise to Elphaba that she was still against the idea now.

"Why should I give you a new assignment when you haven't even finished your other one?" she nodded referring to Elphaba.

The green girl bit her lips, clenched her fists, she did anything she could not blow up in Mrs. Upland's face at that comment. Her magic tingled at her fingertips but Elphaba made a point to stop it just as it started.

Glinda on the other hand was very calm about it all.

"Elphaba can help, she can be my guardian... she can make sure I write to you and come back here for the holidays."

"No, I won't allow it," Larena said decisively.

Elphaba took in a breath, if only to prepare herself for the onslaught of fighting that was about to occur.

The petite girl next to her held a tense face, her features were still but they gleamed with anger.

Glinda never yelled nor screamed or shouted, and she had never cried again after her father, but she radiated those emotions. She did have them, but she just didn't make them clear on her face.

Elphaba knew that was her secret... the one that allowed her to play by her mother's rules and yet try to break free of them at the same time.

Glinda wasn't stupid, of that Elphaba had learned during her time here. She was clever, tactful... enough to out smart her mother.

Throughout the years, Glinda had surprised Elphaba with her intellect. The blonde knew when to pick her battles and she knew what buttons to press to make her mother cave.

She wasn't as oblivious as Elphaba had originally thought and that had been a most welcome surprise.

"You've always said that I would be a heart breaker, let me prove it to you that I can be. Let me show you that I can be cold, truly cold," those words slipped from Glinda's lips carefully and immediately they got a reaction out of Larena.

The older woman leaned forward, her eyes sparkled with interest. Glinda's tone had been cold, icy and that's exactly what Mrs. Upland had been looking for.

"Now there's the girl I raised," breathed Larena excitedly.

Elphaba exchanged a wry smirk with Glinda, but the blonde didn't show any signs of smugness or amusement at getting her way.

"You're making us late," remarked Glinda as she picked up her suitcases and turned on her heel.

"Wait," Larena called out.

Both girls turned around, hesitant.

Larena pursed her lips again, studying them for a moment.

For a moment it flashed through Elphaba's head that she might reconsider, that she might change her mind and keep both of them locked up in here for the next five years but then she spoke:

"Break their hearts, Glinda. Do not fail me again."

The blonde didn't even acknowledge the demand, and she walked out of the mansion first with Elphaba following behind her.

Once they embarked into the carriage, it was then that Glinda spoke again.

"It feels so strange... to be leaving," she said at last.

Elphaba looked at her, seeing the tiniest glimmer of regret in those sapphire eyes and she knew that it was her job to squash the feeling before it grew.

"It's for the best. Just think of it, Glin. We're finally free," Elphaba clasped the blonde's hands tightly.

"For now," the blonde retorted in contempt but a brief smile appeared on her face.

As the carriage drove on, the two spent the ride talking.

"Anything from Nessarose?" ventured the blonde carefully.

"No, nothing," Elphaba said softly, disappointed clearly in her voice.

She had written to her sister a few weeks back about possibly going to Shiz University but nothing had come of it. Nessa never replied to any of Elphaba's letters anymore and though the green girl knew it was a lost cause she couldn't help but still write a letter every once in a while.

"I'm sorry," expressed the blonde as she fixed the collar of her dress, a pristine white ensemble that sharpened her sapphire eyes and showed off her thin frame.

Elphaba nodded but did not comment any further.

"I'm surprised she actually let us go," Elphaba remarked a little while on, "I wasn't so sure that your Mother would relent. You were marvelous."

Glinda barely acknowledged the praise, not even bothering to send a grateful smile Elphaba's way. Elphaba huffed in disappointment.

"I wonder how long she'll let us stay," Glinda's words sounded like freezing water... cold and yet slightly uncertain of how things would turn out.

"Until our studies are done, of course," supplied Elphaba but Glinda didn't look so convinced.

"If I please her, you mean... She could care less about our studies. All Mother desires is for me to break a man's heart into a million tiny pieces."

Elphaba looked at the blonde woman pitifully. She had so much pent up anger and frustration it was heartbreaking to see.

"We'll get through this, I promise," Elphaba reassured her.

To this Glinda said nothing.

The blonde turned her head away to the window shortly after that, obviously exhausted from her passionate begging this morning and said no more until they reached the gates of Shiz University.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

"Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!"

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Boq, a mere munchkin boy, fell head over heels in love with Glinda the first day at Shiz.

He fell right into Larena's trap like he was a mouse. The poor thing never had a chance.

He had spotted her across the courtyard where she had been socializing with some of her new found friends, all highborn of course with their lace gloves and their pinned up hair. Glinda fit right in with them.

To Boq, she was a vision.

The students had all dispersed into groups after receiving their room assignments and schedules so the courtyard was packed with people but that didn't seem to deter Boq from his goal of speaking to the beautiful blonde who captured his interest.

He did however spot another individual who, by chance, caught his attention, though she had no sought out to receive it.

After all, it was hard not to notice green skin.

Boq recognized Elphaba due to that green skin from childhood, he and Elphaba had been playmates for a few years.

He watched as Elphaba glanced at the blonde girl as she socialized with her wealthy friends from a bench where she pretended to be interested in her class schedule.

The munchkin wondered what Elphaba wanted with the blonde girl, he wondered if the two girls were friends... these thoughts whirled through his head as he walked over to Elphaba, though he was determined to get to the blonde at some point.

He stared longingly at the blonde woman before him with his feet suddenly stopping, his eyes full of wonder and lust. Elphaba caught his gaze for a minute and shook her head at him.

"I warn you," she interrupted his thoughts, "Be careful not to lose your heart to her."

Boq turned around to face the green girl, his hopes dashed in his eyes.

"Way to destroy my dreams before they even pan out, Miss Elphaba." He sounded irritated.

"How do you know me?" she asked softly, folding up her schedule and looking at him straight in the eye.

"Don't you remember, we were playmates back in Munchkinland when you were little. I'm Boq?" He tried to sound friendly but he didn't fool Elphaba who knew he wanted to be conversing with the blonde woman instead of her.

"I do remember a little nuisance of a boy, maybe it was you." She smirked at her own joke but Boq was not amused.

"What brings you to Shiz, Miss Elphaba?" he asked though he was inching farther away from her and closer to Glinda.

"I'm Glinda's chaperone/roommate."

Boq's mouth hung open, "You're rooming with her? Oh, how lucky you are!"

Elphaba gave him a forced grin. He seemed so oblivious, so star-struck that it made her want to vomit.

"You shouldn't stare, Boq. Didn't anyone ever teach you any manners?"

Boq's eyes pulled away from Glinda and looked at Elphaba.

"She's mesmerizing..." he breathed.

"She isn't worth it," Elphaba stated softly. But he returned his gaze to Glinda's figure anyways.

"Oh, but she is, Miss Elphaba. She's the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," his lovesick delusions made her ill and Elphaba fought the urge to gag as she watched him drool over Glinda.

She watched Boq stare at Glinda with an intense expression. She wasn't used to other people gravitating towards the blonde for the two of them had been isolated in that house since Mr. Upland's death. Elphaba had gravely underestimated the blonde's charming aura.

She felt a surge of emotion stir up inside of her, and she held her arms tightly across her chest.

"She is," Elphaba pointed out, "But that doesn't mean that she wants your affection."

Boq frowned at her.

"You don't know what she wants," he commented, obviously hurt.

She looked down at her feet, picking at her fingernails harshly.

"I know her better than anyone Boq," Elphaba stated factually, "She won't let you get anywhere with her."

The Munchkin boy looked severely offended. He puffed out his small chest as if to prove a point about his masculinity but to Elphaba he just looked ridiculous.

"I'm going to prove you wrong, Miss Elphaba," and he marched right on over to Glinda.

Elphaba, who had thought of leaving before, stuck around just to see the man embarrass himself.

Glinda barely acknowledged his presence when he marched over to her circle of friends. She was deeply engrossed into whatever gossip those airheads Pfannee and ShenShen were putting into her head. She moved over for him, but nothing more than that.

But it was when the other girls departed, that Boq finally caught her attention. Since he was rather short, he had to jump up to get her to notice him.

But when he finally did, it was an awkward few minutes between the two, with Boq stumbling over his words and Glinda coldly rejecting him, even his presence.

It was all dutifully, and amusingly watched over by Elphaba who stood in the corner of the courtyard now with her lips twitching from laughter.

When Boq finally walked away, looking rather rejected and flushed, Elphaba finally let out a loud cackle.

Glinda came over to her shortly afterwards, looking as if nothing had ever happened.

"Why didn't you stop the poor boy," she chided Elphaba, "He made a complete idiot out of himself."

"You should give him a chance, he's very determined and I don't think he's going to stop," Elphaba laughed.

The blonde woman merely groaned, "Let's just go find our dorm, I need to unpack. I promised Shenshen and Pfannee I'd go out to lunch with them after class today."

Elphaba followed suit without saying another word, just smirking all the while.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

It was a world wind of classes, studying and being Glinda's constant companion and chaperone. Not that Elphaba minded. She was easily amused with everyone's enthusiasm at being in the blonde's company. She enjoyed poking fun at Glinda's airhead friends and at the lovesick boys that fawned over her behind their backs, Glinda was not as easily amused by this.

But the two girls shared a bond that no one could quite figure out. They were an odd pair together but no one dared to speak up about it, everyone just accepted that the two opposite girls were friends.

It continued as such for quite some time. There was the constant admiration around Glinda from her peers, the boys, even her friends at times, but it was all unwanted attention. The blonde, though charming, brushed everyone's eagerness to be around her off. The only one she wanted to spend time with was Elphaba. The green girl guessed it was because she understood where the blonde was coming from, and that she knew the inner workings of her life. They had something in common besides going to Shiz, they had practically grew up together.

It was nice while it lasted.

That was, until a certain Winkie prince showed up to Shiz.

Pfannee, the usual gossiper on campus, came running into Glinda and Elphaba's dorm room to tell the blonde the news.

"Oh, Glinda have you seen Prince Fiyero around campus this morning? Isn't he just divine?" she gushed rather dramatically, after storming into the dorm unannounced and without knocking.

The blonde girl who had just gotten up and was now sitting at her vanity replied that she hadn't.

"He's quite a catch, if only he wasn't so empty-headed but I guess one can't have brains and beauty. He's already been kicked out of three schools, but he has the most swoon-worthy eyes." Pfannee was making quite a spectacle of herself and Glinda had to bite down on her lip to avoid laughing at the girl's antics.

Elphaba, who had been up at the crack of dawn, was trying to drown out Pfannee's high pitched squealing with a book but her efforts were unsuccessful for it seemed that the girl's voice was getting louder by the second.

"You should get dressed so that we can catch him a glimpse of him at lunch!" proposed Pfannee as she rushed out of the room, claiming that she had to go find Shenshen and Milla to tell them the good news.

"Thank Oz, I thought she would never leave," Elphaba muttered as the door closed and the room resumed its usual silence.

Glinda said nothing, and began absentmindedly combing her golden hair.

"Are you off to go see Prince Charming with those flirts? I don't know what you see in them, Glinda honestly, hanging around them is bad for your intelligence."

Glinda turned, her pale rose bathrobe hanging on her thin frame.

"Don't be so testy, Elphaba. It's unbecoming on you," she fired back as she got up and selected a light blue dress with white spots from her closet.

Once the dress was adorned, she applied a generous amount of lipstick, much more than she usually put on, Elphaba couldn't help but notice.

"You're not going to get anywhere with this prince Fiyero if you are around those ninnies, I can tell you that right now," remarked Elphaba as she shut her book.

"Would you rather accompany me?" asked the blonde as she checked her reflection in the mirror.

"I'm not one for Princes, I don't believe the term accurately exists. They are just a romanticized version of men with positions of power," Elphaba quipped.

Glinda sighed, "He's just a man, Elphaba."

"Even worse then!" Glinda shot her an annoyed look but Elphaba didn't stop there, "Men think they are superior to everybody which is unlike Princes who are bound by their position to be superior to everyone. Men are more dangerous than Princes."

"Why don't you come with me and you can be the judge of that for this Prince Fiyero?" Glinda suggested.

There was brief moment of silence.

"I'll come but only for my amusement when he makes a complete idiot out of himself in your presence."

Together they left the dorm to find the Prince.

Pfannee's description couldn't have been more vague. If it weren't for the crowd of followers that grouped around the Prince, Elphaba and Glinda never would have found him.

He was sitting near the fountain, chatting away with whoever who talk with him, which was the entire school. Everyone seemed to be enamored by him, much like they were enamored by Glinda.

As for the two girls they moved through the crowd to get closer so that they could get a good look at the Prince.

Glinda laid eyes on him first and as soon as she did, she stopped walking as if she was star-struck. Elphaba peered around her shoulder and took a look at the so-called swoon-worthy Prince.

Elphaba hated to admit it but he was rather swoon-worthy. He had dazzling brown eyes that glittered like they had specks of gold in them. His hair didn't have a lock out of place and gleamed like melted chocolate. He was physically fit, had toned muscles and had an air of arrogance.

Though he looked very handsome, Elphaba was not impressed. His voice had the tone of disdain, like he only cared for himself.

"He sound so cocky," murmured the green girl.

"He's a prince," muttered Glinda, "What did you expect?"

Elphaba frowned deeply at that but said nothing more.

She didn't trust men who wore such tight white pants. Not to mention ones with red vests and had messenger bags.

The Prince now moved in their direction claiming that he probably should get to class. His followers just laughed like schooling was just a big joke.

The crowd suddenly got very pushy in order to follow the Prince like lovesick puppies and before anyone knew it, Glinda ended up crashing right into Fiyero.

Everyone gasped in shock but Elphaba knew better. She knew that the blonde had been carefully designing such a plan since they had first seen the Prince. It was what she had been trained for.

"I'm so sorry, your Highness," apologized Glinda, curtseying perfectly, as if she had been a princess in a former life.

Fiyero at first seemed annoyed but then he caught sight of the blonde and all traces of anger left his face.

Elphaba recognized the signs immediately and she felt sick as she saw Fiyero become interested in Glinda. Interested was the wrong word. He became infatuated, fascinated with the blonde in a matter of seconds. The only thing distinguishing him from Boq was that Glinda seemed to like Fiyero back.

"It's quite alright, accidents happen all the time, Miss...?"

"Glinda Upland of the Upper Uplands," she filled in the blanks with perfect poise. Her head titled upwards and she gave him a small smile.

"Miss Glinda," Fiyero greeted her warmly and gently kissed her hand. His eyes were locked on her, "Would you mind accompanying me to my next class?" he asked.

Glinda didn't hesitate for a second, "It would be my honor, Prince Fiyero."

He didn't wrench his hand out of her grasp, "Call me Fiyero, please."

The blonde was caught off guard by how quickly their bond was growing but she played it off with a smile.

"Alright, Fiyero."

They walked in the front of the crowd, still holding hands.

Elphaba watched the encounter, annoyed beyond pieces.

She felt as though she was about to lose Glinda, her dearest friend to a shallow, selfish prince who was by no means deserving of her and it was all because of Mrs. Upland.

That night in the dorm was filled with high tensions. Glinda talked about her day with Fiyero while Elphaba sat brooding silently.

"He was very sweet, Elphaba. I know you said he sounded cocky but once you get him away from the crowds, he is quite genuine and caring."

"He seemed very taken with you, I must say," Elphaba got out through clenched teeth.

Glinda didn't miss a beat.

"Are you angry with me for abandoning you, darling? I didn't mean to, it was just so crazy with the crowd, I couldn't find you." The blonde sat up in her bed, her silk nightgown glowing in the candlelight.

Elphaba said nothing.

"Oh, dear you are mad at me," lamented Glinda.

"Don't worry about me," Elphaba finally spoke, "You have a Prince to consume your thoughts now and your plans to entrap him and eventually break his heart, isn't that right?"

"You don't approve."

Elphaba grew angry, "Of course I don't approve. Your Mother's twisted plan to have you break hearts is ridiculous. You are not a pawn in her game, Glinda. You do not have to follow her rules here."

It was now the blonde's turn to be silent.

"Do you love him?" asked Elphaba sharply.

Glinda looked down at her lap, "What do you mean?"

"Do you love Fiyero?"

"You know I don't know what love is so stop asking such a ridiculous question," snapped the blonde.

"I don't believe you," Elphaba said hollowly, "I don't believe you at all."

Before the blonde had a chance to say something back, Elphaba shut off the lights.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

"I have a heart to be stabbed in or shot in, I have no doubt, and, of course, if it ceased to beat, I would cease to be. But you know what I mean. I have no softness there, no—sympathy—sentiment—nonsense."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

It made her sick to see them together. To see the so called perfect couple out and about all the time.

She and Glinda hadn't spoken in weeks since their last argument. They had been silently living together in the dorm day after day. Neither of them would discuss it, and so, as a result Elphaba drowned herself in her schoolwork and Glinda drowned herself in the unwanted affection of her peers and Fiyero.

It physically made Elphaba nauseous to see Glinda display herself in such a manner, like she was nothing more than a pretty object to be looked at. Larena Upland had instilled in her daughter a sense of unworthiness unless she was with someone, unless she was in the midst of breaking someone's heart.

She loathed seeing Glinda on the prince's arm only because she knew Glinda was just doing as she was told. It was all for her Mother, all for her self interest, and it was making Elphaba furious.

Boq was just as irritated as she was, though he was still trying endlessly to earn Glinda's attention. He was failing but trying all the same.

Elphaba on the other hand, was at her breaking point. At every turn she had, she would scold Glinda. Even though the blonde made no mention of it, the flash in her eyes told Elphaba that she did not like not having Elphaba in her favor.

"Have you even been to any of your classes?" asked Elphaba one day in the privacy of their dorm after she had seen the blonde and the prince together down by the fountain when she knew Glinda had class.

"Of course I have," Glinda answered a bit testily but Elphaba could sense her falseness. The blonde sat on her bed, legs curled to one side and a letter in her lap. Elphaba had gotten their mail that day and she had recognized Larena Upland's handwriting on the envelope.

"Is that from your Mother?" Elphaba asked carefully, her eyes glancing at the ripped envelope and crisply folded letter.

The blonde paled and hastily shoved the letter into one of her textbooks.

"Why do you ask?" her face remained cold but Elphaba could tell the question had startled her.

"I just wanted to know what she said. Does she want us home for holiday break?" The green girl cocked her head as she waited for an answer.

"She didn't say anything about you," Glinda lowered her head. Her fingers tapped lightly, nervously on the textbook where the letter had been shoved into.

"Glin... what is it?" Elphaba pressed after the blonde didn't respond for a couple of minutes.

The blonde looked up, her face pink like she was ashamed of something but her features never fully revealed her true emotion so Elphaba just guessed.

"You've told your Mother about Fiyero, haven't you?"

Glinda's face was all the answers she needed.

"You knew how she was going to get if she knew! Why did you tell her?" Elphaba scolded, turning, if possible, a darker shade of green, "Don't tell me she's got some warped scheme like you spending holiday break at his home or something to that effect?"

Glinda couldn't look her in the eyes. Elphaba's heart stopped cold for a moment and then a fierce burst of anger pumped through it.

"You can't go through with this, Glinda!"

The blonde bit her lip hard and looked at Elphaba with a harsh expression.

"I can and I will. I am to spend the holiday break at his house and you are to go back to your family, goodness knows you haven't seen them in forever."

The green girl was shocked at her words.

"Should I take this as a dismissal then?" Elphaba fired at her.

"No, not a dismissal, "The blonde struggled to find words, "J-just a vacation. You are to return to Shiz after the break, we will still be roommates and everything will be just as it was."

Glinda continued, "Mother fully expects a proposal after Lurlinemas, you will be here for me won't you?"

Her blue eyes swarmed with loneliness.

"I don't know," Elphaba answered truthfully, "I don't see as though you should be needing me anymore, especially after the proposal. After all, you'll have Fiyero. Who am I compared to your so called Prince Charming?"

Glinda looked away and the green girl knew her words had wounded the blonde more than she let on.

"You know what you are to me, Elphie," the blonde said softly and she stood up as if she was about to leave, but Elphaba blocked her path.

Elphaba couldn't help herself, she laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Do I? Do I really? You can't even bring yourself to say the word. I am more than those silly empty-headed ninnies you spend your time with, I am more than your selfish prince. But no, Glinda I don't know what I am to you. You've never clarified that to me. All of my life I have been many things: a freak, a monster, the green girl, that abomination, your father's only hope, your mother's thorn in her side, a student at Shiz... but with you I have no idea."

"Am I a thorn in your side like I am to your Mother? Do you see me as a freak like you had long ago as a child? Or am I just a chaperone to you? Someone to look after you and make sure you're doing as you're told? So enlighten me, Glinda what am I to you?"

The blonde seemed stunned silent. For a while it was just tense air between them.

"Obviously you've made up your own conclusions about how I feel about you so why does it matter?" snapped Glinda, "Your assumptions are probably correct but do tell me if I'm wrong."

Her voice was steely, hard, and as cold as ever. It cut through Elphaba's heart like a knife.

"What would you do if I left right now since I apparently mean nothing to you?"

Glinda bit her bottom lip hard, but her expression remained unclear. Her hands shook slightly.

"You can leave any time you want, Elphaba you know that," she said softly, cooly.

"So you wouldn't care at all if I left for holiday break and never came back?" Elphaba was furious. She hated the cold reception she was getting from the blonde. She hated the fact that Glinda was so well trained in the art of not feeling anything that she shut everyone out.

"I was not programmed to care," was the blonde's only response.

It was then that Elphaba exploded.

"You are not some tick tock machine!" screamed Elphaba, "You are a human being with feelings. You don't have to be this way-this-"

"This what?" fired back Glinda calmly, "This Ice Queen? This robot? I know no other way, Elphaba. I cannot change what I am. I was designed like this, I was designed without a heart."

"Oh, please," exclaimed Elphaba.

Glinda straightened up, "How many times must I remind you that I have no heart, my dear Elphaba? A thousand? You know I can't possibly feel any love, not for you and not for Fiyero! I simply don't have one."

Elphaba looked so angry she looked as though she was about to cry. Her frustration was at a boiling point.

She came towards Glinda and put one trembling hand on the woman's chest, right where her heart was. She could feel the cotton material of her dress but more importantly she could feel the blonde's heartbeats, those fast warm skips of that major organ she claimed she didn't possess.

"See, you have a heart. I can feel it, it's right here beating, wanting to be loved," Elphaba whispered as a last attempt to get the blonde to understand, to realize that she could feel love and be loved in return.

"Oh, you silly girl," Glinda scolded and laughed bitterly, "Of course I have a literal heart. One that beats and keeps me alive. But one that loves," she shook her head, "I was not blessed with such a precious treasure. I was not designed with such a heart."

"You loved your father," Elphaba whispered.

"I tolerated the man," Glinda snapped back.

"You cried when he died, I saw you. You loved him."

"That was a long time ago, I was foolish," Glinda dismissed but Elphaba did not miss the hitch in her breath.

"You love me."

Glinda looked up at Elphaba, her eyes shiny but no tears were in them. She took a step back, and Elphaba's hand fell from her chest.

"I do not."

"You love me."

"I do not. Where did you get such silly nonsense?"

"You care about me."

"I care about no one but myself."

Elphaba's frustration reached a boiling point.

"You do care about me and you do love me. Otherwise you would have gotten rid of me like the others! You do feel something in your heart, it's love Glinda. We're friends and you love me as a friend."

Glinda opened and closed her mouth a few times but no words came out.

"I don't mind...," Elphaba started, "I really don't mind that you are with Fiyero, but I just wish that you were with him because you felt something for him rather than doing what you're told."

The room was silent. Glinda had now sat down on the edge of her bed, her eyes downcast.

"I had always been told that no one could ever truly love me. That in the end everyone would always ruin me and crush everything that I held dear. Mother told me that, and I know that you don't approve of how she treats me and the way she has raised me but she does have a point. Life would be so much better if one detaches themselves from their feelings so they can never be hurt. I think that's why she raised me like this, to break people's hearts before they broke mine."

"That's no way to live, Glinda and you know that," Elphaba reminded the blonde. She sat down next to her and put one hand ontop of Glinda's.

There was a slight hysterical laugh that escaped out of Glinda's mouth, and her lips twitched.

"I know, I know. But I can't change now."

"Do you love him?" Elphaba asked again.

Glinda looked at her lap and then up at Elphaba, her eyes shining.

"I don't know... I think I do... but I'm not so sure."

"Are you planning on breaking his heart?" was Elphaba's next question.

Glinda took a moment to answer.

"Mother wants me to, but only after the wedding. She wants me to just up and leave him, let him be humiliated at his ruined relationship but I'm not so sure. Part of me would like to stay with him and not leave. But the other part, the trained part says to ruin his life."

"If you harbor any feelings for him, then stay with him," advised Elphaba.

"But what if his affection is only lust? What if Mother turns out to be right all along about these things? What if instead I who leaves, he leaves me because he grows tired of me?"

This was the first time Elphaba noticed the blonde getting very close to being upset about something. Her voice was quivering slightly, her whole demeanor seemed shaken with the prospective fear of losing someone she loved.

"If he loves you, he'll stay and if he doesn't then you will find someone else who is deserving of you."

"But what about you? You really aren't planning on leaving, are you?"the blonde asked.

"No, no I won't leave. Not unless you want me to. But promise me from now on that you'll act on your own council and your own feelings about Fiyero." Elphaba gave Glinda a stern look.

She nodded and leaned her head on Elphaba's shoulder.

"Thank you, Elphie," she whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you..."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

"When you say you love me, I know what you mean as a form of words, but nothing more."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

"I didn't bring you two here so that all you could do was fight," Glinda's remark interrupted the intense staring contest going on between Elphaba and Fiyero.

"He started it," supplied Elphaba, her eyes like daggers.

"Me? I was just trying to have some polite conversation and then she went all crazy on me for my opinions," Fiyero defended himself.

"I just think that since you are going to be a ruler someday that you should be better educated about the world and its people and not have such small-minded opinions." Elphaba snapped.

She had to admit, she had been slightly on edge. She wasn't so sure what this Prince was like and she couldn't help but pounce after his first bad move. She knew that it was rude of her to be so judgmental and go off on him but she couldn't help it.

He was dating Glinda and she, as her best friend, wanted to make sure he was deserving of her.

And he was not getting points with Elphaba.

Though it was true that his charm and appeal were highly attractive, and Elphaba was not denying that they weren't, his intelligence was what caused the problems. He seemed utterly clueless to anything around him that was happening that wasn't about him. He was vainly selfish, even more than Glinda which was saying something.

But he did care for her, Elphaba could at least give him that. He seemed to really love her.

Elphaba wished that he just had a bit more brains on him.

"You two are causing such a scene," complained Glinda, fanning herself lightly, as if to keep her embarrassment away, even though it was frigid cold outside. "I knew we shouldn't have come here."

They were at the local cafe and Glinda was right, they had attracted the attention of nearly all of the building's occupants.

"I'm sorry, dearest. Neither Elphaba nor I meant to," Fiyero apologized placing one hand on top of the blonde's.

Elphaba just sneered, "Don't apologize for me. I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself," she paused and took a breath, "I do not take back my words but I am sorry that I distressed you, Glinda."

It wasn't exactly what Glinda wanted but she took it anyways with a nod and tight lips.

"We should be heading back now anyways, it's almost time for class," Elphaba said more as an excuse to leave.

They all stood up, with Fiyero lacing his arm around Glinda's and Elphaba following behind.

The crisp fall air swirled around them and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. Winter was in the air and there were only a few days left until holiday break. Only a few days until Elphaba went back home to Nessa and her father, until Glinda went home to the Vinkus with Fiyero.

"My parents are eagerly awaiting to meet you, darling," Fiyero said to the blonde as they passed through the University gates, "They have an entirely grand reception planned out for you."

"I'm looking forward to it," answered Glinda with a small smile.

"Where are you off to for break, Miss Elphaba?" Fiyero asked, glancing her way.

"Home. Munchkinland," she said abruptly.

"I promise to write, darling," swore Glinda as they made their way through the courtyard and into the halls.

"I'm sure you will have lots to tell me," said Elphaba and Glinda caught her glance and gave her a half-smirk.

"Have you lived in Munchkinland all of your life, Elphaba?" asked Fiyero.

"No," Elphaba quickened her pace to keep up with the couple, "No I've lived with Glinda since I was ten in the Upper Uplands."

"What a curious upbringing," commented Fiyero.

"My father thought I needed a friend, the Upper Uplands is mostly filled with farmers and fields... there are hardly any children anywhere. He thought I could use someone to be a companion with," Glinda reflected melancholy.

"So you two grew up together?"

"Yes," they both answered, but Glinda continued, "Darling I thought I told you all of this already."

He nodded, "Yes, but it's just such an interesting tale. Who would have thought?"

He didn't have to say it but they all knew what he was insinuating. Who would have thought that a green girl and a blonde beauty would have grown up together? Who would have thought that such a pair would be such best friends?

"The same could be said for you. Who would have thought that the infamous Prince of the Vinkus would have been kicked out of... how many schools has it been?" It was an unfair jest but it amused Elphaba to see Fiyero squirm.

"Four and that was uncalled for, Miss Elphaba."

But Glinda had a slight smirk on her face. Elphaba's endless jesting did sometimes make her laugh when she wasn't terribly annoyed with it.

"It's such a cold day out, do you think that it will snow for Lurlinemas?" the blonde attempted to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Lurlinemas isn't a real holiday. Who cares if it snows on that day, it is, after all, just a day."

"Honestly, Elphie if you continue to on in such a manner I will find a new roommate before holiday break and leave you to room in the Pink Room with ten other girls," shot Glinda sounding vaguely annoyed.

Fiyero smiled at his girlfriend. Elphaba frowned.

"Fine, fine no more jests today. Let's just get to class on time."

"Oh, don't forget though," called out Fiyero once they had gotten a good distance away from each other, "There's going to be a dance at the Ozdust ballroom tonight. Everyone on campus is going."

"Not me," said Elphaba flatly.

Glinda frowned, "Oh Elphie, please come. You have to, otherwise I'll tell Mother you're being a terrible chaperone."

Elphaba grimaced, reluctant to say yes.

"Fine, but only for you."

Glinda just smiled softly and walked to class.

The Ozdust ballroom was nothing short of spectacular. It seemed to have crystals embedded into every surface of its hall that shone the light in dazzling rays.

Glinda looked radiant in her dress, a fiery crimson that complemented her complexion and features. It was short but nothing compared to some of the other girls' dresses.

Elphaba on the other hand wore black, as she always did. Her hair was pulled into a bun. Glinda had tried to get her to wear some lipstick and she had succeeded, though she had wanted to put on eyeshadow and other cosmetics on her face, but the lipstick was enough.

Fiyero stayed by Glinda's side the entire night, he spent it adoring her, complimenting her, loving her. Every other girl in the room hated her guts for snatching up the prince. They all thought she was the lucky one.

But Glinda looked off, distant like she didn't want to be there.

Elphaba watched them like a proud parent but couldn't help but be slightly concerned. She was happy for Glinda. She seemed to be coming out of her shell and embracing her own identity. Still there were times when she would slip back into her Ice Queen demeanor, but they were becoming rare.

She wondered if today was one of those days.

"You look bored, Elphie," Glinda commented after she had grabbed drinks for herself and Elphaba. The green girl took her glass of punch and sipped it.

"You know how I am about parties."

Glinda smiled, "Have you danced with anyone yet?"

Elphaba laughed, "You know I can't dance."

"What if Fiyero danced with you? The blonde drank her punch, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind as long as you behaved."

Elphaba stared at her, puzzled. "What are you up to? Why do you want me to dance with him?"

The blonde avoided her gaze, "I just want you to have fun, Elphaba. You have my permission I promise."

Fiyero then showed up next to her, as if on cue.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

Elphaba was too stunned to say anything otherwise, and before she grasped a sense of what was happening it was too late and she was already on the dance floor.

All eyes were on her. It made her nervous and she stumbled a few times but Fiyero led her with grace and poise. He knew what he was doing.

"I don't know why she's doing this," she remarked to Fiyero as she caught sight of Glinda as they spun around, she was standing with her flirtatious friends, "It seems all strange to me."

"I think she felt bad for you, she knows you don't like social events," Fiyero said.

Elphaba bit back a harsh comment about how she didn't really like him either but she deemed it too cruel to say out loud so she kept it in.

"She looks beautiful tonight, doesn't she?" Fiyero commented adoringly.

Elphaba looked at the blonde. She did look amazing, but there was a small glint of sadness that Elphaba detected in her eyes. It worried her, but not enough for her to point it out to Fiyero.

"She does indeed," she answered getting back on topic.

"I know you and I don't get along very well but I'm glad we can be cordial to one another for her sake," he whispered in her ear.

"I would do anything for her," Elphaba then paused, "I don't hate you, you know. I just don't agree with most of the things you say."

He laughed, "I can understand that. You are very opinionated and that's not a bad thing. Sometimes I wish I could be more like you."

She arched an eyebrow, "You want to have green skin and be Glinda's chaperone?"

"No, no not that. I wish I had your intelligence. You are very smart Elphaba." He looked at her straight in the eyes.

Elphaba blushed slightly at the compliment, "I think this is the longest we've gone without insulting one another."

He grinned, "Then I think Glinda's plan worked. I believe she did this to force us to get along."

Elphaba smiled as well, "I wouldn't put it past her."

The song ended but neither of them moved away from each other.

"Take care of her, will you?" said Elphaba suddenly, "Take good care of her. She needs it."

He stared at her, and nodded silently.

"I promise, I will."

Elphaba bit her lip, "Good. Good. Because if you don't I will personally be responsible for your murder."

He laughed slightly at that and just then Glinda came up to them.

"So how did we enjoy our dance?" she asked coolly.

"Your plan worked, we didn't insult each other for a whole three minutes," Elphaba said.

"Oh, thank Oz," said Glinda relieved, "If that didn't work, I was going to strangle both of you."

Fiyero wrapped his arms around the blonde and kissed her cheek.

"Well it did. We're the best of friends."

Glinda looked as though she didn't believe it one hundred percent but she let it go.

"Alright, good I'm glad to hear it."

Both Elphaba and Fiyero just looked at each other and laughed.

They really did seem to all be getting along.

Maybe he was the one for Glinda. Maybe Elphaba had been wrong about him.

She watched as the couple placed themselves back on the dance floor and felt a bittersweet feeling surge up in her.

It was good to see Glinda break away from her Mother's teachings... but she wondered how long it would last... and if it would last.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

"I'll tell you...what real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to someone who smites it."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

"He told me he loved me," Glinda said quickly and softly as if she wanted Elphaba to be the only one to hear such words.

Elphaba, half asleep, almost didn't even hear her.

"Elphie?" she called out into the darkness, "Are you awake?"

The green girl groaned and opened her eyes to find the faint silhouette of Glinda in front of her, sitting on the bed.

"Glin, what are you doing up? Go to sleep, we have class in the morning," Elphaba complained, rolling over so that moonlight didn't hit her face.

"I'm sorry," apologized the blonde.

But Elphaba could feel her weight on the bed and she knew that Glinda had not gone back to her own bed yet.

She sighed, annoyed at the disruption of getting an adequate amount of sleep.

"Tell me what happened," she said softly as she sat up, across from Glinda.

"He told me he loved me after he kissed me," she repeated again, "and I didn't say anything back. I just walked away like it didn't happen. I-I didn't know what to say. I've never felt love before like that... I got- I couldn't..."

"This is what you woke me up for? Glin for Oz's sake this is a good thing. This means you actually might get a proposal from him, isn't that what you wanted?" asked Elphaba, "You may claim not to know much about love but I had hoped you had least known that!"

"It's not that," Glinda's fingers began to fidget nervously.

"Then what is it?" Elphaba's voice sounded slightly concerned.

The blonde took a breath.

"I've been thinking a lot about certain things and... and I want to break it off." She got quiet again as if she was dreading having to explain herself.

"Break what off?" Elphaba had a vague idea of where this was going but she didn't want it to be true.

"Break the relationship off with Fiyero."

Elphaba stared at her, stunned. Those hadn't been the words that she had been expecting.

It took a few moments to regain the power to speak.

"Glinda, you can't possibly mean that! You love him, don't you? I mean, for Oz's sake yesterday you were just discussing your wedding plans!"

The blonde chewed on her lip, "I do love him, and that's why I need to break it off with him. He... he doesn't deserve me... I'm the infamous Ice Queen remember? I have no heart. He deserves someone better, someone smarter... someone...like...you," she glanced sideways at the green girl.

Elphaba's jaw was to the floor.

"You're not serious."

"You two really compliment each other, once you both stop trying to tear each others' throats out," the blonde said with a sad little smile.

"But he loves you," protested Elphaba passionately,"I've never seen a man so in love! He's infatuated with you. He hangs on every word you say, follows your every movement, takes care of you."

"But I can't love him! I can't love him like he should be loved! Don't spew that nonsense that I can again, it just irritates me," Glinda growled, "I can't hurt him... I won't."

Elphaba took her hand, "You don't have to. No one said you have to follow your Mother's orders. You can marry him and love him and not break his heart."

Glinda just looked at her coldly, with a blank expression, "I end up breaking everyone's hearts eventually."

"I'll even end up breaking yours at one point," she said icily, as if she didn't care when Elphaba knew that she did.

"Glinda, listen to me," pleaded Elphaba, "Don't do this. Listen," the blonde tried to pull away but Elphaba wouldn't let her, "I've had some news. I had wanted to wait to tell you later, but I guess I'll spill the beans now."

The blonde's eyes shifted to her face, and Elphaba knew she had her attention.

"Madame Morrible has been overseeing my progress in my Sorcery class. She says I have a unique talent and she has gotten me a chance to meet with the Wizard after Lurlinemas break. Maybe then we can finally see if there's a spell to cure you of this."

"I don't think you can change my personality with a little spell, dear," scoffed Glinda.

"But Glinda there might be a chance that we can do something about this, some spell or some potion to make you feel things, to rid you of whatever your Mother has engraved into your mind forever," Elphaba smiled at her friend, "I really believe this could work."

"Why don't you just slip a love potion into my morning tea? Wouldn't that do just the trick?" her eyebrows rose. Her voice sounded haughty.

Elphaba frowned. Glinda was mocking her.

"It doesn't work like that, and besides love potions are only temporary."

"Well, then I guess I'm doomed to a life of misery and despair and of breaking people's hearts."

She moved off the bed and climbed into her own, pulling back the covers.

"Glin, don't be like this," called out Elphaba, "I'm just trying to help."

"And what if it doesn't work? Hm, Elphie, what then? What if you go to the Wizard and he says that he can't help us or that he doesn't want to? What if this is all for nothing?"

Even with the moonlight scarce, Elphaba could tell that Glinda was angry, that she was cold and shrill.

"Don't you dare go around giving me false hope, Elphaba!" she scolded, "Not about this."

"I just wanted to tell you so that you wouldn't give up on Fiyero just yet," argued Elphaba, "But I can see that you've already made up your mind about your relationship with him."

"He's only infatuated with me, I promise you it's only lust. After time it will wear off and he'll find someone else to love..." whispered Glinda, "so why not just break it off before either of us gets too involved."

"You must believe that there is someone out there for you, Glin," Elphaba's heart ached for her friend.

"No, no I don't," said Glinda softly, looking down at her lap, "Haven't you studied the history of human kind, Elphaba? It's all destruction, and war, and death. Hatred and deception. Our history isn't built on love or kindness or even happiness. It's built on chaos, it feeds on death and despair. How can anyone ever be happy in a world like that?"

"But why waste your life being someone's pawn? Why waste it knowing fully well you could have had a happy life with someone that you care about?" Elphaba pressed.

"No one is ever truly happy, not forever anyways. It all fades away after time. Even adoration, even the kindest of people turn on their friends in the end..."

The blonde stopped speaking and looked at Elphaba once more.

"I'm going to tell him tomorrow. Don't try and stop me."

"Your Mother is going to be very disappointed," warned Elphaba.

The blonde laughed bitterly, spitefully. It was a painful sound, like one of a wounded animal.

"Oh, no. No, not disappointed. She'll be overjoyed. The first heartbreak of many, and he's a Prince too," the blonde gave Elphaba a watery smile, "What a fine notch to have under my belt."

"Glin..." Elphaba got up to comfort her but she pushed her away.

"Just go, Elphaba. I just want to sleep now," she mumbled.

Elphaba hesitated, she lingered over the girl's form for a few seconds before turning away and going back into her bed.

"I will fix this," Elphaba swore softly, "I promise I will."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

"The broken heart. You think you will die, but you just keep living, day after day after terrible day."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

"I'm sorry, Fiyero, but I'm not changing my mind. I'm breaking up with you."

As soon as Elphaba heard those words spoken on the other side of their dorm in the hallway, she knew exactly what was in store next.

She sighed heavily as she sat on her bed, listening to the breakup that was happening outside of her room. She pitied Fiyero, the poor guy had no idea that this had been coming.

"Was it something I said?" he asked, "Glin, please let's just talk about this! I don't want to lose you!"

"It wasn't you, Fiyero. I just realized that I wanted something different from this," explained Glinda coldly.

"I don't understand," Fiyero said hollowly, "Glinda, I thought we both wanted this."

There was a slight pause.

"I don't know if I mislead you, Fiyero, but I never thought I had ever leaned towards one way or the other. I never wanted this. It was... great fun and all but I think we can both agree that it's time to part before either of us get too involved."

Elphaba was slightly awestruck as to how unemotional Glinda's voice was. How cold she had been. How cold she was. She sounded rehearsed though, as if these responses were planned and had been calculated out hours beforehand.

"But I love you, Glinda," Fiyero pleaded, his voice breaking slightly.

Another pause.

"But I never expressed any love for you, Fiyero," stated Glinda.

It was a crushing blow and she had said it as if it had been the weather forecast for the next day.

The door opened and Glinda walked inside and shut it before Fiyero had the chance to try and get in after her.

Elphaba looked up from her book, and glanced at the blonde cautiously.

"So?" she asked prompting the blonde to speak.

Glinda turned, "Don't pretend like you weren't listening," she snapped. She sat down in a haste in her chair and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She looked slightly weary, and tired.

Suddenly there was an insistent knocking, pounding on the door.

Glinda pursed her lips and didn't move. They both knew who it was. It wasn't a guessing game.

"He knows you're in here, Glinda. No use in pretending like you're not," pointed out Elphaba from her bed.

The blonde sighed irritably. She got up and opened the door slightly, only poking her head out.

"Glinda, please don't do this," Fiyero begged, "We can still get through this. I love Glinda, and I don't want to let you go."

His pleas went unheard by the blonde woman who looked right through him as if he was a ghost.

Elphaba felt rather uncomfortable being in the same room as the fighting couple. She hide her face in her book but that didn't seem to stop them from noticing her.

"Elphaba," Fiyero suddenly directed his aggravation at her, "Could you please talk some sense into her?" he motioned towards Glinda who was trying to shut the door in his face but he held it open and let himself in.

Glinda moved away from him, her back against her vanity's chair and crossed her arms, "Don't drag her into this. It's not her concern!"

Fiyero looked at Elphaba but the green girl couldn't find any words. She couldn't muster her voice. She sat there silent, and just watched.

When Fiyero received no help from Elphaba, he began talking again.

"Glinda, I'll admit it, I was skeptical of this relationship at first too," he said, "But I've grown to love you so much. I'd die for you, Glinda... I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

His words were passionate and Elphaba couldn't deny that she was impressed. Glinda looked as though she could care less. Only Elphaba could see the shade of sadness in her eyes that flashed quickly and then disappeared.

"I was planning on proposing!" cried Fiyero, obviously hurt by the blonde's rejection, "Did you know that? I was planning on proposing to you at my castle. I thought that's what you wanted."

He tried to get her to look at him but her eyes averted his gaze and she stepped back, nearly knocking into her vanity and spilling her makeup all over the floor.

Elphaba was really very uncomfortable with it all. She didn't want to be in the middle of this mess and yet here she was.

She felt bad for Fiyero, she really did. He seemed seriously hurt by Glinda's refusal but a part of her was glad that she was breaking up with him. She would never say such things out loud but she was slightly glad of it.

She went back to her book, hoping to drown out their fight but it was useless.

"You were mistaken, I never loved you," snapped Glinda ferociously.

Elphaba observed her quietly as she looked up from her book every once in a while. She was quite stoic and calm about it all. Her eyes were embedded with glints of anger and annoyance and her demeanor was one of irritation but her face was blank.

Fiyero on the other hand was a mess. His emotions were splayed out on his face like a map.

But all of a sudden, his shoulders slumped and it seemed as though he had been defeated, like he had given up.

"Well I'm sorry to say that I did. I loved you, Glinda and I always will."

Glind said nothing to this and he continued, "Maybe one day you'll look back on this and regret it... and if you ever do, just know that I will wait for you," he said a bit bitterly but honestly, "You are the most maddening, beautiful girl I've ever met and I just hope whoever you choose will take care of you."

He paused.

"You know, I didn't believe the rumors everyone said about you. The ones that called you an ice queen or ice princess. The ones that claimed that you had no heart and that you were created to break everyone else's hearts. I gave you the benefit of the doubt... but now I can see that I was wrong. I was so very wrong...I should have listened."

With his little speech over, he left the room and a hushed silence fell over it.

Glinda still had her back pressed against her vanity, probably too shocked to move. She looked it.

Her face was pale, her fingers trembling slightly, clutching the side of the vanity desk as if she were drowning and it was the only thing that could save her. Her blonde hair shook around her shoulders.

Elphaba couldn't see her face but if she didn't know any better she would have guessed that the blonde was crying.

She put the book down and cautiously moved closer to Glinda. She reached out a hand and placed it gingerly on the blonde's shaking shoulder.

"Glin?"

Tearful blue eyes met her gaze and Elphaba's heart broke for her friend.

"Oh, Glinda," she sighed as she wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Glinda's crying sounded like the wounded cries of an animal and all Elphaba knew she could do was hold her tight. She stroked her hair gently and didn't even mind that Glinda's tears were soaking through her dress.

"You'll be alright, Glin," she whispered.

Glinda looked up at her, tears still streaming down her face.

"I didn't think I would start crying but I am. It hurt to hurt him, Elphie. It really did. I know I said..." she took a breath, "I know I said that I couldn't feel any love but I do believe I really loved him..." she trailed off, gently wiping away her own tears with her hands.

"Then go after him!" encouraged Elphaba though she wasn't too keen to hear those words of affection for the prince, "Go apologize and ask for his forgiveness. Glin, you can still save this."

Glinda looked at her shamefully. A blush crept into her face.

"No, Elphie. I don't love Fiyero like that. He's like... he's like family to me and I'm sorry I had to hurt him like that but he isn't the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Elphaba was slightly confused. She let go of Glinda's body and let her arms stay by her side.

"Are you talking about Boq?" Elphaba couldn't hide the disdain in her voice. She liked Boq as much as the next person but she personally couldn't see Glinda with him.

"No, not Boq darling." Glinda slid a glance her way again. Her mouth twitched as she tried to find the words.

She seemed to be mustering up some courage to say something but as to what Elphaba couldn't tell.

Of course there was something that she had buried deep in the back of her mind that she thought Glinda was alluding to. But it was highly unlikely. Impossible even.

Elphaba bit her lip while she waited for Glinda to speak what was on her mind. Her thoughts were racing fast. What if her assumptions were right? Did Glinda know? Did the blonde harbor the same feelings?

She was devoted to Glinda, that she would not deny. She would die for the blonde if she had to. And lately her feelings for Glinda had changed, changed into something most would call unnatural. But Elphaba read a lot, and she knew that such a thing was more common than people would care to admit.

She had been through arguments with herself, saying that such feelings were wrong and that they were invalid. But it seemed inevitable.

Right now, looking at how sad and broken Glinda was, Elphaba knew that her feelings were true.

She had been too afraid to admit it, too afraid that the blonde didn't feel the same but the way she was speaking, the glances, the blushes, maybe Elphaba had been wrong.

One thing was certain, she had been in love with Glinda for a long time now. She couldn't remember exactly when her feelings had changed. Maybe it was when they arrived at Shiz and she felt the cruel pang of jealousy when Glinda was courted by Fiyero... maybe it was when Elphaba realized that Glinda didn't rely on her as much anymore.

She had gone through many relationships with Glinda, all in their own time and right. First she had been the stranger, then over time she became a friend, a confidant, and as of now a chaperone, a companion. But Elphaba wanted more. She watched as Glinda turned down boy after boy, each refusal of love only hardening her. She knew that it would do her good to let someone in, to have someone love her.

"It's just..." the blonde's voice brought Elphaba back to reality. She stood there, waiting for what came next.

"I just didn't expect him to be so emotional over it all. I mean honestly, he can't think that I'd go back to him."

Elphaba stayed silent and didn't let Glinda know that her hopes were dashed, that she had been expecting a different statement.

The blonde wiped the last of her tears and composed herself.

"You won't tell Mother about this, will you?" she asked in a small, timid voice. She looked frightened, scared that she had lost control over emotions and had let her guard down.

Elphaba gave her a reassuring smile.

"Not a word, I promise."

Glinda smiled back, grateful. She took the green girl's hand in her own and leaned her head on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Elphaba," she said softly, her voice silky.

Elphaba stiffened at the contact but didn't not push the girl away. She welcomed it after a few seconds and the blonde's head was warm and fit nicely on her shoulder.

Glinda looked up, "You look distracted darling. Is there something wrong?"

Elphaba swallowed slowly. She could just tell her right then and there. Confess it all. But she knew it was a lost cause. Glinda wouldn't love her. It would be mad to even think it possible. Her heart had been carved out of ice and snow, there was no room for love in it.

How foolish she had been to fall in love with such a woman. How foolish she was to even consider it.

"Nothing," she said, "Nothing at all."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

But to be proud and hard to me? Would it be weakness to return my love?

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Rumor had it that Fiyero had dropped out of Shiz after he and Glinda' breakup. It wasn't officially announced seeing as the students were going on break that day but it was highly assumed from several reliable sources.

Glinda had said nothing to the news, and had brushed off her friends' annoying attempts at trying to ask her why she broke up with him.

"I'm so thankful that we're going back home," confessed the blonde as she embarked in the carriage at the school's gates and sat across from Elphaba. The last of their bags were being tied down and a fresh snowfall was surrounding them.

Elphaba looked away from the window and focused her gaze on the blonde.

She looked positively radiant that day, with her dark blue dress with sleeves that covered her arms and a skirt that went down a respectable length but her black tights still could be seen from her ankle to her knee. Her heels were a must and today they were black and exceedingly high. How she walked in them was a mystery to Elphaba. Her hair fell in glorious waves around her shoulders and her lipstick only enhanced her complexion.

Elphaba, per usual, paled in comparison. She never had Glinda's taste for the extravagant. Today she wore a simple, plain black dress and had wrapped a gray shawl around her shoulders to keep herself warm. She had also thrown her hair into a bun and stuffed her feet into her worn out combat boots. What a picture the two of them must have looked like to any outsiders.

"Have you written to Nessa?" the blonde asked softly. She knew Nessa was a sore subject but she couldn't help but inquire about the girl.

"I did," Elphaba said stiffly, "but I never got a reply back. I guess they know that I'm coming."

Glinda looked at her feet, brushing back a loose curl from her face.

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine," she soothed, "When do you leave again, I've forgotten?"

"Tonight, my train departs at five," Elphaba answered.

The blonde looked over at her once more, a little smirk on her lips, "Oh won't Mother be thrilled to hear that! She'll be glad to pester you all about my recent breakup up until the minute you leave."

"I'm so looking forward to it," grimaced Elphaba and Glinda just laughed.

"At least you get to get away from her for a while, I'm stuck there for three weeks," she pouted.

"By your own doing, you could have been at the Vinkus," Elphaba let that slip from her mouth even though she knew it was wrong.

Glinda's demeanor immediately changed. She shifted her body, looking rather uncomfortable. Her face features contorted into one of slight anger and slight discomfort.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to say that! It just slipped out," apologized Elphaba.

"It's quite alright, Elphie," a hard smile broke across her face, "You're completely right, it is all my fault. I shouldn't be complaining."

The subject was shortly dropped after that.

"Will you be alright without me?" asked Elphaba after a while.

The blonde looked up from her gloves, the color of them matched her dress. She slipped one of them off and inspected her nails. The bumpy ride was annoying her as was Elphaba's question.

"I don't understand what you mean by that, darling."

Elphaba straightened up as the carriage bounced along the road.

"I mean, will you be alright with your mother without me?"

Elphaba knew that Glinda was tough but against her Mother Glinda crumbled like sand.

"Of course," Glinda said coldly, "Why shouldn't I be? It's just three weeks. I can handle her."

Elphaba raised her eyebrows while Glinda huffed and crossed her arms indignantly.

"If you say so," Elphaba said.

The rest of the ride was spent in brewing silence, and it wasn't until they arrived at the mansion that either girl spoke again.

"Your Mother hasn't kept up with maintenance," was the first comment Elphaba made as she looked out onto the property seeing the greenery which had spread from the ground to the walls of the house, making it look like an abandoned ruin more so than a home.

"She never goes outside, why should she care what it looks like. She only stays inside, remember," Glinda said softly.

"Oh, trust me. I remember," Elphaba said with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes.

Glinda's eyes narrowed.

"Don't be so snarky, Elphie. It's unattractive on you."

Elphaba pursed her lips at that assessment.

"And I would advise you to not be so cold for that is rather unattractive on you, but you're not going to listen to me so why should I listen to you?"

That was a biting comment. Glinda looked away and her lips tightened into a frown.

"Don't pretend like you didn't deserve that," whispered Elphaba as she hastily removed herself from the carriage, slamming the door behind herself, leaving Glinda still in there.

Head held high, Glinda emerged from the carriage moments later. If Elphaba's earlier comment had bothered her, there was no trace of sadness on her face. It remained straight, blank like it usually was.

The servants came and took their bags while the two women entered the house.

It seemed emptier than both could recall. Hollow. Almost dead. There was barely any light coming from the candles and the place could use a good cleaning, dust covered every surface.

Even in the midst of this mansion of death, Mrs. Upland stood in the middle of the foyer, the only sign of life besides the servants in the house, and greeted Glinda joyously.

"Oh, my darling I've just heard all about it. I received your letter this morning and I can't tell you how pleased I am. How you strung him along darling, it was all so beautiful," trilled the older woman as she kissed both of Glinda's cheeks.

She then pursed her lips and said, "It's a pity you couldn't have waited till after the wedding so that it could have rung up a bit more publicity but I'm sure you had a good reason for breaking it off so soon. I trust your judgment darling."

Glinda said nothing in response.

Elphaba, who hadn't received any signs of Mrs. Upland acknowledging her presence, said very loudly, "I'm going upstairs to gather the rest of my things for my train ride. Don't mind me."

Mrs. Upland didn't, but Glinda glanced back at Elphaba as her mother grabbed her wrist and demanded to be told everything with a look of pity. She even mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," to her.

While Elphaba was upstairs packing her things, Glinda was at the mercy of her mother's insistent demands to hear the story of the breakup from start to finish.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me the story?" badgered the woman as she ushered the girl into the living room where she took a place in an armchair and Glinda at the piano.

The blonde's fingers lightly brushed over the keys. She didn't want to talk about this, not now. Not to her Mother. It had been hard enough to write about it in the letter, she didn't need to orally repeat it.

But her Mother was hungry, hungry for the details of Fiyero's misery, for the description of his face when she broke up with him, how crushed he was. She fed off of it.

She soaked up the misery of men like it was sunshine.

Glinda wasn't sure if she herself did though. Even after all of this training, this development in her personality that told her she wasn't allowed to love, Glinda didn't like making others miserable. She didn't enjoy it and that's where, in her mother's eyes she had failed.

The blonde looked at her Mother carefully while she kept her silence. She wondered if the rumors about her father had been true, wondered if her Mother really had been a deprived wife whose husband was off screwing other women. But she knew getting answers wouldn't help her now. What's done was done.

This was the way she was. This was the way her Mother had wanted her to be. Glinda could scarcely recall a time where she wasn't this cold-hearted person. Ever since birth, her Mother had taught her not to be sorry for anything she did, her Mother encouraged her to be mean, to be snobby, to look down on others and think herself superior and since she was kept isolated Glinda didn't know any better. It was only when her Father started bringing in those nannies and governesses that she had an inkling that what she was doing was wrong.

But whatever help her father tried to give was given too late. By age ten, Glinda was already ice-cold. She couldn't revert back to what she never was. She could never be that sweet little darling. She was mean, snobbish, cruel and above all cold.

Glinda didn't know why Elphaba of all people changed this. Why Elphaba was the one to melt a piece of her heart. She didn't know and frankly she didn't care, what matters is that it happened.

But ever since then, her instincts had been screaming at her. Screaming at her to let someone in. Glinda thought she had let Elphaba but her instincts said that wasn't enough.

There was something missing from her life. Something that she refused to acknowledge. She had convinced herself long ago that she didn't need it, she didn't need love and yet she craved it.

It was an endless cycle and right now Glinda didn't know if it would ever end. She was well-read in the theory of love, of its symptoms, and its effects. Delusion, happiness, fulfillment. But she knew of its bad side effects: broken hearts, depression, obsession, and last of all: consumption. Once love is let into a person, it can't be stopped. It's like a virus, it affects every part of the body and will never fully let go.

That's what Glinda was afraid of, what she is afraid of. Yet she wouldn't mind it. She wouldn't mind falling head over heels in love with someone.

She had been trying for weeks to convince herself that what she had been feeling for Elphaba was just a short-lived crush, an admiration perhaps, that the feelings she had ever so slowly developed for the woman were not real. But they were, and she couldn't deny it any longer.

Her Mother had been so afraid of her falling in love with a man, but she had never considered the possibility of her daughter falling in love with a woman.

It had all suddenly changed one day. The night that Elphaba had asked her if she loved Fiyero and she replied that that was a ridiculous question. Seeing Elphaba get so defensive about her, caring about her, it finally clicked with the blonde that the green girl loved her. And what even more surprising was that Glinda realized she loved her too.

She hadn't thought herself capable of love, and every time Elphaba brought it up she brushed it off. She was still not sure of the whole thing. That's why when she started to fall for her, she spent more time with Fiyero, she nearly flung herself at him. But then things with Fiyero were going downhill and that's when she concocted her plan for Elphaba and Fiyero to get together, but that didn't work out as she hoped.

And so as a last resort, she broke up with Fiyero. She broke up with him in the selfish wish that maybe, just maybe she could get closer to Elphaba.

It was ridiculous. But she couldn't help herself. For the first time in her life, this was something that she wanted and she wasn't about to let it slip through her fingers.

"I've already told you it all in my letter, must I repeat myself?" she said to her Mother at last. She removed her hand from the keys and tucked away part of her hair behind her ear.

"I want to hear it from your lips, I want you to tell me everything," pressured Larena obsessively.

Glinda looked at her Mother again. Then she sighed.

"The truth?" she asked, "You want to hear the truth?"

Larena's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She looked confused.

"What do you mean? Glinda, what are you saying?"

A brief smile crossed the woman's face, she liked keeping her Mother on her toes. It made things all the more exciting. She took a breath.

"I've failed you," she said at last, "I've fallen in love and I didn't stop myself."

A beat of silence passed between them.

"With Fiyero I presume?" Larena's voice sounded tight, "Well, I can see why you broke it off so suddenly my dear if that was the case. But you still broke his heart, and that's all that matters."

Glinda laughed darkly. She couldn't contain it.

"I'm not discussing my courtship with Fiyero," stated the blonde matter of factly.

It took Larena a minute. The words really had to sink in for her to assume what Glinda was talking about.

She pursed her lips so tightly that Glinda thought that they were going to crack.

The younger blonde though felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. She felt a strange sensation of warmth fill up inside of her, something that she had only read about it books. Dare she declare it happiness?

Either way, the blonde couldn't help but smile to herself.

"I should have gotten rid of her when I had the chance," Larena said stiffly, anger laced in every word.

Glinda's eyes sharpened.

"Well, you're not going to get rid of her now. I forbid it," she snapped.

Larena looked offended, horrified.

"I will do as I please," she huffed at her.

Glinda stood up, "I won't let you. I won't let you drive her away," she said passionately.

Mrs. Upland faced her daughter, the younger blonde looking up at her.

"You'll drive her away, eventually and in time. You are not allowed to love," emphasized the older woman.

"And who deems that for me? You? You're not making decisions for me anymore. I won't let you control me... I won't be your pawn," growled the blonde.

"Is that what you believe I think of you as," started Larena, "You think I believe you to be a pawn. Oh, my darling, no. No, you're not a pawn. You are the future, the last hope for me. You are my darling daughter... you were destined to break hearts, can't you see that?"

Glinda stepped back, away from her.

"Is that all you care about? My bringing misery upon everyone else?"

Larena locked eyes with her.

"Of course. That's all I ever wanted you to do."

Glinda's bottom lips trembled ever so slightly and a glaze seemed to form in her eyes but she never let either of those gestures become full blown.

"You disgust me."

"And yet I'm the only one who truly loves you and this is how you treat me," Larena placed her hands on either side of Glinda's face lovingly, "You treat me like I'm some game-maker, like I'm some ruthless killer of dreams. I just want you to succeed in life and the best way to do that is to not feel."

"But it's not humanly possible. I can't go throughout my life not feeling anything," argued Glinda.

Larena sighed and dropped her hands from Glinda's face.

"No, not humanly possible... but," she paused, "with a bit of magic, it is possible."

Time froze for what seemed like forever. Glinda felt her heart stop, her entire world too.

"I-I don't understand," she stammered at last. She could feel her entire body go numbingly cold, if she had to take a guess she would say that it was fear.

"Yes, you do," said Larena softly, "You understand perfectly. But just for the sake of telling everything, I'll start from the beginning."

Glinda couldn't say anything.

"When I was pregnant with you, I was so filled with rage for your father for his obvious deceit and lying about his faithfulness that I decided to take my revenge. He had always talked about wanting a little girl, a perfect, loving little girl, so when I found out that I was pregnant with you, I went to see someone. A lady with renowned powers, and she told me that the child I was carrying was indeed a girl. And that's when I asked her to curse you, to make sure that you could never feel any sort of loving affection for anyone as long as you lived, and she agreed. She gave me a potion and I drank it everyday while I was pregnant, so when it came time for you to be born, you would be born without any love, without any affection. Your father was devastated when you rejected him time and time again, I believe he suspected something of my doing at some point but if he did, he never said anything," she stopped for a minute and glanced at her silent daughter.

"But you mustn't think such terrible things of me, my dear. I did it out of love, I did it to help me but also to save you from the cruelness of love. I didn't want you giving your heart to someone and then having them smite it. I did it to protect you."

She bent her head to lay a kiss on Glinda's head but the blonde girl ducked and took a few paces back from her mother.

"You cursed me," she whispered quietly. "You cursed me to be like this, how can I ever love you after this?"

"You can be fond of me, darling. After all, I'm the one who took care of you, who taught you everything. I'm the only one who loves you," Larena tried to clasp the girl's hands but Glinda wrenched them away from her.

"You can imagine my surprise now," started Larena, "that you come to me today and proclaim that you love Elphaba. It's not possible, my dear. Whatever you are feeling is only temporary, it won't last. You'll become bored of her just like you did with Fiyero, you'll become tired of love and its effects and you'll break her heart."

Glinda shook her head, "No, no I won't!"

"Yes, you will," Larena said calmly, "You can't fight it Glinda. It's your destiny. It's in your blood."

"I'll change it, I'll do anything," begged the blonde girl as tears began to sting her eyes.

"You can't reverse a spell once it's been cast, especially if it's a curse. You know the rules, my dear. You know it's not possible," Larena glanced into the foyer.

"If I were you, I would go tell her to leave and never come back. I wouldn't toy with her emotions like a monster. Save her and yourself the time. Go and tell her you never want to see her again. I know you don't want to hurt you, you didn't want to hurt Fiyero either. So do what you do best my dear, and push her away and isolate yourself so you don't hurt anyone else. I can't deny that you may feel something for her, but I'm wouldn't call it love. Lust, maybe but certainly not love. I didn't spare you from lust, unfortunately."

A steady flow of tears were now falling down the blonde's face. She kept shaking her head, refusing to listen to her Mother.

"Don't drag this out any longer than it has to be," advised Larena harshly, "Go and get it over with."

The older woman came over to the girl and wiped away her tears.

"Enough of this nonsense, enough of this crying. You are not a babbling idiot. Straighten up and tell her to leave. It won't be that hard. You'll get over it soon enough. Don't test my patience Glinda or I may as well go retrieve more of that potion and slip it into your morning juice."

"You wouldn't!" the blonde uttered.

Larena grabbed her arm roughly, "Do not test me. Stop this sentimental crap. I'm beginning to believe the potion is wearing off and if you think I'm just going to let it go quietly, you're wrong. I won't lose years of work on your feelings for her."

"I love her, I can't just tell her to go," protested Glinda.

Larena just looked at her, with a fierce expression on her face.

"If you don't, I will and I can promise you I will make it more unpleasant and heartbreaking than you ever would dream," she threatened.

Glinda lowered her head, feeling defeated but she said nothing. She was no match for her Mother and she knew it.

She had to tell Elphaba to leave, for her own protection.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen:

"Break their hearts my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

She climbed the stairs one by one, slowly as if weights were holding her down. She didn't want to do this, but she had no choice. She couldn't hurt Elphaba, she couldn't do what she did to Fiyero to her. It wouldn't be fair, it wouldn't be right. Even though they were the best of friends, the closest of companions, Glinda had to push her away.

No one could ever get close to her again, not now when she knew the truth. This changed everything.

In the beginning, she reflected as she walked up the flight of stairs, she had had hope. She had believed in Elphaba promising her that she could help her, that they could magick the coldness out of her.

Now, to find out that there was nothing to be done, that nothing could change it, was devastating. It was heart-breaking and terrible. She felt like she had no hope left.

Finally she made it to Elphaba's room. She wiped the last of the tears off of her face and proceeded to knock, only for the door to be opened a few seconds later by Elphaba.

She appeared, bright faced, a little smile on her face.

"Have you had enough of your Mother for one day?" she joked.

Glinda didn't laugh and Elphaba immediately picked up on it. She reached out for her hand.

"What's wrong, Glin? You look upset."

Glinda let herself be guided into the room by Elphaba and they sat down next to each other on the bed.

There was a still silence that hung in the air as they waited for each other to speak.

"You're being dismissed today," Glinda finally said in a voice sounding so detached Elphaba wondered if it really came from Glinda's mouth.

"What? Why? Glinda, is this about Fiyero? Is she mad at me because I let you break up with him too soon?" Elphaba's anger grew in her voice and she looked so heated and angry that Glinda was worried that she would go and start a fight right then and there.

"It's not about Fiyero," Glinda said quickly. She bit her lip, wanting to say more but she let the silence fill the gaps.

"Then what is it?" asked Elphaba tensely. Her heart skipped a beat, she wondered if what she was thinking would be true.

"I-" began the blonde but she trailed off before she could finish. She looked down at her lap for a long time, her hands wringing in worry. She took several deep breaths.

Elphaba looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Glin?"

The blonde looked up, appearing rather unsettled. She couldn't seem to find the right words. Of course the moment she needed to be eloquent was the moment when her words failed her.

"You have to leave," she whispered.

"Why?" countered back Elphaba sternly, "Tell me why and then I'll gladly go but I'm not leaving without an explanation."

The blonde said nothing for a few minutes.

"She cursed me," she suddenly began, "My own mother cursed me when I was a baby so that she could exact her revenge on my father for supposedly cheating on her. She ruined any chance I had at happiness because of her own selfishness. She ruined me. She made me this way and there's nothing to be done so you might as well just go, Elphaba," she broke off suddenly but then continued in a few seconds time.

"You can't help me anymore, Elphie. No one can," she said mournfully, sadly and her voice held a faint trace of bitterness in it as well.

"But we can still go to the Wizard, maybe he'll have something!" proposed Elphaba, moving closer to the blonde.

Glinda just laughed, hard, bitterly, angrily.

"Spells are irreversible. You know that."

"But maybe there's something else we can do, don't give up on yourself now, Glinda! We're so close," Elphaba was full of encouragement and it was making Glinda sick. She didn't want to hear anymore false hope.

"No, no. I'm not going and that's it. I'm planning to drop out of Shiz, to then go back and apologize to Fiyero and then hopefully marry him. I'll be his wife, and he'll be the happiest man in Oz."

"You don't have to do that, Glinda! All that you've worked for, all that you've achieved, you just want to throw it all away now?" yelled Elphaba. She was livid.

"It's pointless trying to make a life for myself when it feels like everything I've ever done and ever will do has been planned out by some grand master-mind," snapped the blonde.

"Then change it, carve a new path, start anew. It can be done. We could run away right now," suggested Elphaba.

It was Glinda's heart that skipped a beat now.

"What?" she stammered.

Elphaba looked at her, those chocolate eyes piercing into her soul.

"I said we could run away," she took Glinda's hand in her own, "We could run away from here and never look back."

The blonde looked down at their intertwined hands. She felt a rush of warm rise up in her and then a crushing coldness.

It would never work. She knew it. She knew that now.

Tears formed at her eyes again. She knew this lapse of coldness was probably the potion wearing off and with her mother bent on keeping her so cold and cruel, she knew this sensation of feeling would never last.

But it felt so real.

It felt so warm to be holding Elphaba's hand, it felt so harsh and horrid to be crying from the pain of telling her to leave.

For once she felt whole. Broken and hurt, but whole.

It made her want to cry even more.

She could hear Larena downstairs, searching around the house, and it was mostly likely a search for the potion.

This was her only chance to feel something, to feel real before the coldness would overcome her again and she'd be nothing but an ice queen.

She credited the potion's dissolve to her year at Shiz. She realized now that her mother had more than likely slipped the potion into her drinks as a child, and as a teenager. But when she went away, her mother had no way of getting the potion into her. That's why her Mother was so against letting her leave. She knew that the effects would wear off.

Glinda saw that this was her only window of opportunity and she took it.

"I love you," she said simply out into the open.

It was a simple sentence but its meaning, its importance could never be undermined.

A pure smile broke out across Elphaba's face. The grip on Glinda's hands grew tighter, lovingly tight. But it felt right. It felt good.

"Then why do I have to leave?" asked Elphaba.

Glinda let a few tears loose on her face, and she bent her head down, sniffling.

"Because it won't last forever. Mother's downstairs right now getting more of the potion, she thinks its effects have worn off a bit, which is to be expected since a curse's powers can't last forever. But after today I won't be able to feel anything. I won't be able to love again."

She looked up at Elphaba.

"I won't hurt you. I won't do it. You have to leave."

"I don't want to leave," Elphaba shook her head at the demand, "I won't."

"Please," Glinda begged, "Please leave. You'll be so much happier. You don't need me."

Elphaba looked at her with pity," But I know you need me. If I leave, she'll ruin you even more. She'll destroy whatever pieces of your heart that aren't ice and she'll use you again."

"I don't care, she can do whatever she wants but I will not hurt you," said Glinda resolutely.

"You could never hurt me," Elphaba said softly, as she raised one hand to Glinda's cheek and gently brushed away her tears.

Glinda half laughed, half cried.

"Please, please just leave," she begged, "Don't make this any harder on me."

Elphaba just stared at her. Glinda really looked like a mess, she looked worse than when her father died. Elphaba had never seen her this rattled, this desperate, this emotional. It was gratifying to see that all of her efforts had not been in vain but she wished that it had been under different circumstances.

"I wouldn't leave you. I love you too much to do that," she said softly as she wiped more tears off the blonde's face.

Then she leaned in slowly, carefully and let her lips melt together with Glinda's. Sure she could feel the tears running down the blonde's cheek but that didn't matter. The blonde didn't pull away. Instead she locked her arms around Elphaba's neck and let the kiss deepen.

Sweet murmurs passed between the two women as they kissed, inaudible whisperings of comfort and love until they finally pulled away from each other.

"Now how can I leave after that?" pointed out Elphaba softly as the blonde curled up against her, still slightly crying. She tangled her fingers into the curls of that golden hair and kissed Glinda's head repeatedly.

"How different everything would be if we had realized this sooner," murmured Elphaba quietly, after she kissed the blonde girl again.

Glinda, who had by now stopped crying, whispered, "I was so afraid of falling in love, I was so blind not to see that it was right in front of me the entire time, that I was in love with you. I tried to fight it, I tried to tell myself that I wasn't capable of it, which I'm not but even still."

"Going to Shiz and getting away from here was the best thing that could have happened to you," stated Elphaba, "I know that's not what you wanted to hear but it's true."

Glinda made no comment, she only nodded.

"We could still run away, leave your Mother behind and take off somewhere, maybe the city. Somewhere where we can wait out your curse, I wouldn't mind," suggested Elphaba as she entangled a hand in Glinda's.

"What about your family, you need to go back to them," but Glinda's voice wasn't forceful and so Elphaba laughed at the proposal.

"They don't need me. Nessa hates me, remember?"

The blonde was silent after that.

"Your attempts to get me to leave are pathetic. Stop trying, Glinda, I'm not going to leave you," said Elphaba a bit harshly but her point was made.

"Then you get to watch me turn into that infamous ice queen persona you used to believe I had, do you want to do that?" Glinda came back with that biting question.

"I won't let that happen," Elphaba swore passionately.

Glinda straightened up and looked at her right in the eyes.

"But I will."

"What?"

Glinda looked slightly apologetic but not too much.

"I said I will. I will let myself turn into that Ice Queen if I have to."

"But-but why? Don't you want all of this to stop? Don't you want to be free?" asked Elphaba placing a hand on that pale face.

Glinda shook her head, her tresses swaying, "I'll never be free. I was cursed, Elphaba much like you believe you were with your skin. But my curse is going to take over, it's going to make me void of love forever. I can't stop it. It's effects may wear off a little but not completely. I will never be able to fully love, never fully care about you. You don't deserve that and don't pretend to be so blind because you realize as well as I do that this will never stop. It won't end."

"I want to see you through this, I'll remind you of this, of this day when we kissed. I can help, Glinda. I'll find some way to help, I promise."

Elphaba looked so desperate, so hopelessly devoted to Glinda that she could feel a crack shatter through her heart.

She couldn't do this any longer. She couldn't listen to Elphaba's promises of a better life, of a happy life.

She had to make her leave, no matter how much pain it caused her. It would be better, in the end, if she left now.

Glinda knew what she had to do.

"I don't want you to help," she said forcefully, harshly. Those words were uttered with a fierceness like Elphaba had never heard before.

"I don't want you to be with me when that happens. I don't even want you to be near me. I don't want to continually hurt you for the rest of our lives."

Elphaba just stared at her wordlessly.

"Go," she demanded. "Just go before my Mother makes you leave. It will be torturous if she does it, so please, please if you love me, Elphaba please go. Leave for your family and don't come back. Just forget about me, and all of this. You have a chance to live your life, so go and live it."

Elphaba said nothing, she sat there for a while just staring at Glinda.

"You really believe that you're trapped, don't you?" she whispered softly.

Glinda nodded faintly, she didn't trust herself to say anything.

"I'm going to prove you wrong then," Elphaba promised, "I'm going to go back to Shiz, go see the Wizard and I am going to find something to cure you of this."

Glinda said nothing. It was no use fighting with her.

"And then when I've found something, I'll come back for you. I'll visit all the time, just to check up on you. I'm not going to let you get rid of me that easily. I know you love me, and I know that your heart is destined to be with mine."

Elphaba kissed her again, and Glinda didn't move. So Elphaba kissed her harder, more passionately and the blonde just pulled away.

"Go," was all she said.

Elphaba's eyes welled up. She didn't move at first. But then Glinda got up to leave and Elphaba blocked her path.

"I'm not leaving unless we say goodbye."

Glinda's breath hitched in her throat. She could feel a lump welling up.

She held out her hand as if to shake Elphaba's but the green woman shoved it aside.

"Don't you dare insult me like that. Save your ice queen routine until I leave. Say goodbye to me like a friend, like a lover."

Glinda recoiled her hand and looked at Elphaba's face hesitantly.

Everything seemed to hit her all at once and she was suddenly flooded with numerous emotions, she felt as if she would explode. It was all there: happiness, joy, fear, sadness, angry, regret.

She swallowed hard.

Glinda studied Elphaba's features, her body, her aura. She wanted to remember it. She wanted to remember her. Right now. In this moment before it was all taken away from her.

It was Elphaba who made the first move, she nearly crashed her lips into Glinda's before the blonde had a chance to realize what was happening. She wrapped her thin, nearly boney arms around the small girl, and lifted her up as she kissed her. Glinda snaked her own arms around Elphaba's neck.

It felt like centuries before they pulled away. For a while they just stared at each other, panting, out of breath, eyes glistening.

Time stopped for them in that moment.

"I'll come back," Elphaba promised, "I swear I will."

Glinda nodded, she didn't doubt Elphaba's intentions. She was just worried about what type of person she would be coming back to. What kind of monster Glinda herself would become in the process.

Elphaba headed for the door at last, after grabbing her things. Glinda stood there frozen for a minute and then ran after her.

She caught the green woman on the stairs.

"Elphie!" she cried, reaching a hand out towards her.

Elphaba turned, her eyes hollow, a faint, sad smile on her lips.

"Yes, Glinda," she replied dutifully.

Words bubbled to Glinda's lips but there were too many of them. Too many things she wanted to say.

"I love you," came out at last.

Elphaba smiled and laughed bitterly at the same time.

"I love you too."

They looked at each other for a long time again, just staring into each others eyes.

Then Elphaba gave her a quick nod and descended down the staircase while Glinda lowered herself to the ground and cried.

No one ever said it was easy being in love.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

"You are the torment and occupation of their lives."

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

Nessa wouldn't let it go.

"But why did you leave?" she asked for the millionth time.

Elphaba groaned. It had been almost a year since she had left the Upland's residence, almost a year since she had last seen Glinda. She had continued her education at Shiz, even getting an opportunity to work with Dr. Dillamond on his research. It was different there, without Glinda. Her presence was sorely missed by all. It seemed colder there in her absence.

"I told you, I was dismissed. I didn't choose to leave," answered Elphaba as she took away Nessa's plate from the table.

Nessarose seemed dissatisfied with the answer she received.

"Fine, then why don't you tell me what happened with the Wizard? You haven't talked about it since you returned from that trip and that was almost a year ago."

"I'm not talking about that either," snapped Elphaba.

The two sisters had easily gotten back into their roles as siblings once Elphaba had returned. It hadn't been that hard. Nessarose had gone through another religious phase and she immediately forgave Elphaba and since then the two sisters had been on good terms.

But Elphaba had been distant, quiet. Like she didn't want to talk about what had happened at the Upland mansion, but Nessarose was curious.

The younger sister sighed.

"You never talk about anything concerning that blonde anymore. There was a point where you wouldn't shut up about her."

Elphaba stopped short, mid walk.

"Let it go, Nessa," she said tensely and then walked away.

She disappeared into the house, her breathing shallow. She always tried her best to beat around the bush when Nessa asked questions about Glinda. She had told her sister and her father very little about what had actually happened that day.

All they knew was that she had been dismissed because Glinda no longer needed a chaperone.

Frex had been rather annoyed by his elder daughter returning home, he had been expected to be rid of her for a long time.

He hadn't asked her much about it since.

But Nessa kept persisting.

It physically hurt Elphaba to hear Glinda's name, for someone to mention her in casual conversation. She missed her so, missed her presence, her smile, everything about her. She knew that Glinda got rid of her for her own safety but that didn't mean that Elphaba wasn't tormented over it.

She wanted so desperately to rescue Glinda from the clutches of Mrs. Upland, to save her from the Oz-forsaken house where she was only being more corrupted by the minute.

Elphaba set the plate down on the counter, and fell into a chair near the kitchen table.

Her mind reminisced about Glinda, about the last time she had seen her. It all brought back painful memories and Elphaba clenched her hands tightly to fight back her emotions.

She didn't even hear when Nessa came into the kitchen, her wheelchair stopping next to the chair where Elphaba sat at.

"I'm sorry about asking about her. I didn't mean to make you upset," she apologized.

"It's fine," Elphaba said stiffly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you planning to go to the party tonight?" Nessa changed the topic lightly, "The one in celebration of the Wizard? It would do you good if you came and socialized a bit."

Elphaba looked at her sister, one eyebrow raised.

"You know I hate socializing," she deadpanned.

Nessa only pouted in response.

"You can make snide remarks to me and to yourself about everyone who is there," the younger Thropp girl couldn't deny that she knew her sister well.

Elphaba brightened up at that.

"Fine, but only because you said I could make snide remarks."

Nessa smiled, and together they went into their rooms to change.

The ballroom was filled with a miraculous amount of people. Couples everywhere lined the horizon, and music could be heard from all around.

The party had been held in the center of Munchkinland, in the town hall so every person from every walk of life was there not just the nobility.

Elphaba was having a field day making snide comments.

"Who let her in wearing that?" she would whisper into Nessa's ear, causing the girl to cover her face delicately to keep in her laughter.

"Does he thinks he looks presentable in that?"

And so on, and so on.

Nessa finally shushed her, and excused herself in order to go talk to some religious dignitary she had spotted across the way.

Elphaba was left alone in the middle of the crowded ballroom. She stood awkwardly to the side, watching the couples whirl around the dance floor in a graceful fashion.

She was ignored by most people, which was fine for her. After having been away for so long, no one really knew that she was the daughter of Frexspar the Godly. Of course, the green skin gave it away due to legend but still people didn't want to talk to her.

So, she stood there awkwardly in her black dress.

Elphaba was left to her thoughts for a while. She blocked out the music that was floating in the air around her, she blocked out the couples dancing.

Instead she let her thoughts dwell on Glinda. She couldn't help it, she constantly thought of that girl. She wondered what she was up to, what she was doing, if she had survived being left alone with her Mother.

Elphaba couldn't stop worrying about her.

Buried in her thoughts, she accidentally stepped back, knocking into someone behind her. Brought out of her daydream, Elphaba looked back to see who she had accidentally slammed into.

A familiar pale face stared back at her, surrounded by locks of golden curls.

"Glinda."

The name escaped her lips like a gasp for air after being trapped in the depths of the ocean.

Blue eyes locked onto Elphaba's face.

In that second, the two women just stared at each other, not saying a word, just looking. Before the blonde had a chance to make a run for it, for the expression was clear on her face, Elphaba whisked the girl outside onto the courtyard.

"Elphie, let go!" the blonde complained as she was shoved out into the courtyard but the green woman didn't listen.

"What are you doing here?" Elphaba asked sternly once she knew that they were alone. Only the crickets and squirrels could hear them.

The blonde huffed and gingerly touched her wrist when Elphaba finally let go. A ring of red showed up across her pale skin.

"I'm here because I was invited," spat out Glinda coldly but then she muttered something under her breath.

Elphaba didn't hear what she said. But she crossed her arms in anger anyways assuming that it was something that would have offended her.

"Did you know that I was going to be here? Did you come here to torment me like you used to do?"

Glinda looked at her with a sharp glare. Though it had only been a year, she had aged. She looked more womanly than girlish now.

Her face had been drained of all happiness, her mouth in a permanent line of disapproval. Her eyes didn't shine in wonder or excitement but only in anger and bitterness.

"I didn't know you were going to be here, Elphaba. I didn't come to torture you, for Oz's sake stop being so childish."

"Then why are you here?" pressed Elphaba. She couldn't help but be angry. Her frustration of how she left Glinda was all coming back to her in waves of hate.

"I'm here because I have to be," snapped the blonde, looking at Elphaba and then glancing down at her snow white glittering dress.

"Is this another one of Mother's orders? Did she tell you to come here?" spat out Elphaba.

Glinda looked at her, "No. I'm here because of someone else."

She then mindlessly played with something on her left hand, Elphaba couldn't see it but she harbored a guess.

"You're married."

A beat of silence.

"Who's the husband?"

Glinda turned her head away from her and looked down at the ground. She seemed to be struggling to keep her emotions at bay.

Elphaba moved closer towards her and snatched at the blonde's left hand.

A ring was indeed sparkling from her finger in the moonlight.

"Who is he?" Elphaba repeated.

Glinda looked up at her, her face begging Elphaba to stop. For a moment, Elphaba thought that there were actual tears in those blue eyes. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't form her response.

Just then, one of the doors to the courtyard slid open.

"Oh, there you are, darling," said a voice.

Elphaba stiffened upon hearing it and Glinda looked even more guiltier than before.

Before Elphaba knew it, Fiyero appeared at Glinda's side, an arm wrapping around her waist gently.

He looked at Glinda and then at Elphaba. He coughed uncomfortably.

"Did I interrupt something, sweetheart? I just wanted to see if you were ready to leave but we can stay if you'd like?"

There was a tense silence between the two women.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

Elphaba looked like she was about to say something but then Glinda cut her to the chase.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything, dear. I was just on my way to find you. Let's leave now," said the blonde hurriedly.

She took his hand and walked away from Elphaba fast and furiously. Fiyero glanced back and gave her a polite wave and an apologetic smile.

Elphaba was left to herself, and she didn't know what to think.

She felt like her heart had been ripped into two with no chance of it ever recovering.

She tried to focus on her breathing but she felt like she was suffocating.

That damn blonde, she wished that she had never met her, if only to save herself from this heartbreak.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty:

I meant to save her from a misery like my own.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

Elphaba left Munchkinland abruptly, with nothing but a note to inform Nessarose and her Father. She parted in the early morning hours, right after the party.

The note was vague. Simple. Straight to the point and yet it evaded it at the same time.

No one really knew the true reason why Elphaba had left.

But some harbored a guess. Nessa had her suspicions, Frex didn't care, and the rest of Munchkinland barely noticed her absence.

Meanwhile the green woman spent three days traveling with her suitcase across the land to the Upland residence. She had to do something about this otherwise it would go on for an eternity and Elphaba didn't want to go through that.

After her encounter with the blonde, Elphaba had decided that enough was enough. She would not spend the rest of her life pining after Glinda, forever waiting for her to break away from the chains her Mother had imprisoned her with.

Deep down, Elphaba knew that Glinda would never become the person that she had the potential to be. She was too cold, too heartless now for any chance of that.

The train she was currently riding on halted to a stop, causing her thoughts to disappear from her head. She glanced out the window, the familiar sight of the Upper Uplands greeting her.

Picking up her bag, she floated easily in and out of the crowds that surrounded her. She walked with a purpose; she was determined to get to the Uplands before sunset. That way she could leave before morning and be done with all of this.

She hailed a carriage and paid the driver to take her to the residence as quickly as he could. As she sat in the seat, she was stiff, her fingers nervously tapping on her knee. Her gaze was frozen on the window at the objects whizzing by.

But she wasn't paying any attention to them.

She was thinking about Glinda.

They had spent so many years together... so many years of being steadfast companions that slowly turned into being romantically involved.

Even in the brutal moments when Glinda would act cold towards her, Elphaba never gave up on her. She always tried to believe in her, but this, this was too much.

Elphaba wasn't one for quitting on someone, and she wasn't quitting on Glinda... but she was someone who believed in walking away for her or others' own good.

She had to walk away from Glinda, for both their sakes. She had to end this. Officially.

Suddenly her eyes became focused on the familiar scene of the Upland mansion. Still decaying to ruin and covered with ivy, the sight of the house only brought on bittersweet memories.

Elphaba repressed them as she exited the carriage with her suitcase in hand. She muttered thanks to the driver and started walking towards the door.

She knocked, but when no one answered, she hesitantly pulled on the latch and found that it was open.

As she walked through the dark foyer, she noticed that the place reeked of neglect. A cloud of dust and cobwebs seemed to hang in the air as she looked around at all of the ruined objects in the house. Couches that were ripped and had stains on them, curtains that seemed to be made entirely of dust, vases that were chipped or broken.

Elphaba, for a brief moment, was worried that no one was here. She glanced into the living room next when a voice jolted her.

"I expected you to be back here at some point."

She whirled around, and her eyes landed on Larena Upland.

The first thought that ran through Elphaba's head was one about how in the world Larena Upland was still alive.

She had almost withered to a corpse like state, her grey hair had turned to ash white... but it was her piercing eyes that made her recognizable to Elphaba.

Everything about her was quieter, calmer. Her voice was still cold, but quieter. Maybe it was old age, or maybe it was because the years of yelling and screaming had taken its toll of her vocal cords.

She walked with a cane now, and Elphaba was surprised she hadn't heard the woman come towards her in the first place, the sound echoed off the walls of the empty mansion.

But Elphaba had been stuck in her own thoughts, a very bad habit as of late.

"I certainly didn't expect to see you here, Mrs. Upland," Elphaba said with an edge to her voice.

Larena gave her a twisted grin.

"She's not here you know," she said as she walked past the green woman into the living room, her cane clattering against the marble floor with each step.

Elphaba pressed her lips together, not wanting to give Larena the satisfaction of disappointing her and proving her journey here to be absolutely pointless.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied, but Larena saw right through it.

"She didn't come back here when she got in this afternoon. She and Fiyero are on their way to the Vinkus to his castle..." she turned and gave Elphaba a wicked smile.

"How do you know all of this?" asked Elphaba, giving in only because she wanted to know more.

Larena paused and stared at her for a brief moment.

"She sent a telegram. Do you want to read it?" she quipped.

Elphaba shook her head. "I'll take your word for it." she then paused, "Did she say why?"

Larena looked back at her. "She said that she and Fiyero just had to work some things out, family stuff and all. Since they are husband and wife... but I expect you already know about that."

She tilted her head, waiting for a reaction from the green woman. Elphaba couldn't help but give her one, in the form of a frown.

"Did you send her to that ball to torment me? Or was it by accident that she ended up there?" asked Elphaba in a hard voice, her hands clenching into fists by her sides.

"I had heard about the ball but it was not me who told her to go. Fiyero was the one who decided that they should go... something about being included in the politics of the world... about learning more for his people. But I did strongly encourage it, if that's what you want to hear."

Elphaba glanced down at her feet and then back up at Larena, who was moving along into the living room. She took a seat in one of the dusty armchairs, her cane resting by the floor.

Elphaba moved closer into the room but did not sit. She was too angry and agitated to sit.

"So I would assume that you're happy with Glinda's situation with her married to Fiyero and all," she spat out.

Larena's triumphant grin faltered slightly. She tried to recover from it but Elphaba had already seen it.

"What?" she asked with a slight laugh, "Is her marriage to a prince not enough for you?"she scolded, "Larena, I expected that you would be over the moon excited that your daughter was going to break the heart of the prince of the Vinkus."

Larena looked down, obviously not wanting to spill whatever secrets she was holding in.

"He's not in love with her anymore," she finally said at last in a quiet, resigned voice.

That piqued Elphaba's interest.

"What?" she asked, dumbfounded. She thought of the couple last night, how affectionate he had been towards the blonde, "What do you mean?"

"You heard me," snapped Larena, "He's not in love with her. After your departure, she grew colder and more heartless which was of course what I wanted, but then... then she started being cold to me. It got worse as time went on and soon she seemed to have no affection for anything or anyone..."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" asked Elphaba coldly, "Isn't that why you made her take a potion that would void her of any emotions?"

"Yes, it is what I wanted. But now, now she won't even take care of me. She looks at me in disgust..."

"She has every right to do that," interrupted Elphaba harshly, "You ruined her life!"

Larena's eyes misted over. Her lips trembled fiercely.

"I didn't mean to!" she cried, "I thought I was saving her from heartbreak. I never... never meant for it to be like this."

"Well, it's too late now. Your feelings of regret can't change anything. You have to live with the fact that you've ruined your daughter's life all because of your selfishness," scolded Elphaba.

Mrs. Upland looked at her meekly, almost cowering in her presence.

"Why-why did you come here anyways?" asked the older woman in breathy voice, glancing up at her.

"That's none of your business," quipped Elphaba.

She ran a hand through her long hair, this wasn't going as she had expected it to. She just wanted to go find Glinda and end all of this.

"You came here to speak with her..." Larena said softly.

Elphaba snorted. "Way to state the obvious."

Larena shot her a look and then continued.

"Did you come here to beg her to leave him? Are you jealous of him?" she asked curiously.

"I don't beg," said Elphaba firmly, "And I didn't come here to ask her to leave him."

"Then you came here to end it... whatever you and her have together..."

Elphaba's eyes hardened.

"You know what we have together," she growled in a low voice, "You're the one who made us break it off."

"A relationship between two women, it can't be done," Larena whispered.

"She loves me!" protested Elphaba.

"She doesn't know what love is. You think she loves you... I can tell you first hand that it's not love. It's endurance. She endures you, just like she endures me and everyone else she meets," Mrs. Upland said in a strained voice.

"No, I am not like you to her. I'm different," Elphaba argued.

"That's what everyone thinks," Larena said tiredly. "We're all the same to her."

The old woman paused.

"She may have loved you once," she took a breath, "A long time ago. But now... there is no hope that she'll ever love you again. She can't."

"I think she can," said Elphaba, remembering the tears shining in the blonde's eyes from last night, "Maybe she can't love you... but I think she can still love me."

Larena looked at her, surprised at the conviction and determination in her voice.

"I doubt it..." she argued slowly, "but I hope you prove me wrong... for her sake at least."

Elphaba nodded, figuring that that was going to be the only time Larena would speak of her approval for Elphaba's actions.

"I should be going," the green woman said at last, and she turned on her heel to leave.

"Wait!" Larena called out in desperation, "Wait!"

"When...when you see her, you have to convince her to forgive me, please," begged Larena, her hands clasped together, pleading.

Elphaba straightened to her full height, looking down at the older woman.

"And why should I do that?"

"You're the only one who she'll listen to. You're the only one she'll ever listen to. Please. Please, tell her to forgive me, I'm... I'm so sorry for what I did to her... she didn't... she doesn't deserve it," sobbed the old woman.

Elphaba stared at her with a blank expression.

"No. No, I won't. That is something you need to do. I'm not going to apologize for you," she spat out.

Elphaba then turned to leave.

"There's a book," began Larena as Elphaba was walking away, "called The Grimmerie. It's a spell book. The Wizard is in posession of it now, but-"

"I know what the Grimmerie is," snapped Elphaba turning around, "What does it have to do with any of this?"

"There's a spell in there that could help... it might change her, reverse the affects."

Elphaba pressed her lips together to keep herself from raising her voice.

"You told Glinda that spells were irreversible. The Wizard told me that they were too."

"They are. But sometimes there are counter spells... I believe the Grimmerie has a counter spell for Glinda's curse. I wasn't going to say anything but I think it's time..." Larena trailed off.

"You can save her," she whispered to Elphaba, "If you get the book."

"But it's not certain, is it?" asked Elphaba.

"No, no it's not. But it's worth trying," Larena said softly.

In that moment, Elphaba thought about bashing the old woman's brains in with one of those broken vases. She thought of killing her in that moment for all of the grief and pain she had caused her and Glinda, only to now feel the need to help.

She could get the book. She knew where it was from her meeting with the Wizard back at Shiz.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Then Glinda stays the way she is," answered Mrs. Upland in a small voice.

Elphaba turned on her heel, her mind racing. She started to walk away when Mrs. Upland started yelling at her once more.

"You are going to get the book aren't you? You're her only hope! Tell her, tell her I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

But Elphaba wasn't listening.

She never answered her, she just proceeded to walk out of the mansion, her path headed towards the Vinkus.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One:

You are in every line I have ever read.

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

The mountains of the Vinkus seemed to engulf her, almost swallow her whole. Compared to them, she was nothing more than a speck on this earth.

It was slightly intimidating really, to be in the presence of such majestic power... and humbling too.

But the scenery nor the philosophical musings inspired by it was why she came here.

The tall walls of Kiamo Ko came into view and she was reminded of her goal once more.

Glinda.

She needed to speak with the blonde, to tell her everything and then break it off. She had her own life to lead, and Glinda certainly didn't seem like she was going to stop hers for Elphaba's sake. There was no use in waiting around for the blonde to wake up and realize the truth.

She was hesitant to go searching for the Grimmerie, if that even did provide any help. She wasn't so trustful of Larena, and she had good reason to be.

The gates of the castle opened wide for her, and Elphaba disembarked from the carriage; her mind still tingling from her previous thoughts.

To think that just a year ago, she had been in possession of the Grimmerie. While at her visit to the City Elphaba had the opportunity to meet with the Wizard and he saw great potential in her... he even let her use that book since she was the only one who could actually read it. Her opportunity was gone now, she had blown it by being too devoted in her search to find Glinda.

She wished now that she could remember the spell that Larena was talking about, if there was such a thing at all.

Her pace slowed as she got to the door, her feet suddenly stopping. Instantly, she got nervous, almost fidgety. Her skin grew cold and she felt the urge to run back to the carriage and just go home.

But she had to do this. She had to face Glinda.

So, she raised one fist and knocked on the door.

A maid's head peeked out of it in a few seconds.

"I'm here to see Glinda, I mean Princess Glinda Tiggular," corrected the green woman as she realized the blonde probably went by her title here more so than her actual name.

The maid nodded, "And you are?" she prompted.

"No one... just... just an old friend."

The maid opened the door and let her in, though not without a suspicious look in her eyes.

"I'll tell Madam you're here. You can wait in the library," she ushered Elphaba into the room just down the hall, not giving Elphaba any time to look around at the stone castle.

She closed the door quickly, and Elphaba was left to herself.

For a while she paced around the room, trying to think of what she actually wanted to say to Glinda when she got there. Her pacing then turned into sitting down on a chair, standing up when she thought the door was going to open, and then sitting back down to repeat the cycle all over again.

Finally the door opened, and Elphaba looked up, not before standing, to greet her.

"I can't possibly imagine who in the world would come see-" the blonde started before she saw Elphaba, but she immediately cut off her own sentence.

She pursed her lips delicately and then moved back a little to shut the door. She moved gracefully for she was dressed in a lavish cream gown with a gold belt and gold embroidery in the shape of roses on it. The front of hair was pinned to the back with exquisite sparkling pins, and the rest was left to loosely hang down her back in gorgeous curls.

Once again, Elphaba felt overshadowed by the blonde... feeling under-dressed in her dirty black dress from the party which was now stained with mud at the bottom, along with her combat shoes.

"What are you doing here?" Glinda questioned softly, her eyes averting Elphaba's gaze.

"I came to see you," Elphaba answered honestly, taking a step closer to the blonde.

Glinda, after a moment, took a wary step forward, "I didn't ask you to come," she said glancing at some of the books of a shelf that was next to her. One of her hands ran over the edge of the shelf lightly, as if she was trying to calm herself.

"I know."

Glinda looked at her at that, a snap of those blue eyes betrayed a hidden resignation.

Elphaba suddenly felt her nerves wash away in that moment. She still had power over Glinda, even if Glinda didn't want to admit it.

Those combat boots took two steps forward and Elphaba watched as Glinda's face morphed into one of regret and sadness.

"Elphie... why are you here?" the blonde asked, taking a step back when she decided that Elphaba was close enough.

"You know why I'm here..."

"Then why don't you just get it done and over with then?" snapped the fair-haired woman, "I know how you felt about the other night at the ball. I could see it on your face. Why couldn't you have just left it alone at that and let us live our lives in peace?"

"Because I love you and I felt that I needed to do it in person," Elphaba said, reaching out to take the blonde's hand, which she did. Glinda didn't resist.

Those blue eyes glanced at their hands intertwined.

"We've already decided that this would never work... why must we keep breaking it off when it never started in the first place?" pointed out Glinda.

"I guess I'm just too stubborn," said Elphaba. She meant it as a joke but it came out flat.

The blonde loosened her grip on the green woman's hand, and let her hand slip back to her side. Her fingers touched at the gold embroidered roses on her dress gingerly.

"I'd say," said Glinda with a little more life in her voice. Elphaba slightly smiled at that.

Glinda's face faltered and soon silence filled in the space between them.

"I went to see your Mother," Elphaba started, treading carefully.

The blonde tensed up immediately, stiffened at that statement but said nothing.

"She said that in the Grimmerie, that there might be a spell to help you... it's not a guarantee but it could be worth a try if you want to. I could go get it..."

"No," cut in the blonde sharply.

"No?" asked Elphaba a bit baffled at the answer.

Glinda's face was stern.

"Yes, Elphaba you heard me. I said no. I'm not trusting anything that woman says or tells me to do..."

"But what if-"

"No!" screamed Glinda, nearly losing all of her composure. Her chest heaved, her face blushed at the exclamation, and Elphaba just stared at her.

"I don't want to be fixed by some stupid spell. That's what got me here in the first place. I don't need it," admitted the blonde softly after some period of silence had gone by.

Elphaba just looked at her.

"You don't want to change, do you?" she asked, accusingly.

The blonde took a breath, but didn't answer. She started avoiding eye contact with Elphaba again.

"Are you happy... with him I mean?" Elphaba asked suddenly when she realized that she was going to get no where with that other question.

"Did becoming his princess really make you as happy as you thought it would?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"You know I don't love Fiyero, Elphie," confessed the blonde.

Elphaba perked up at that.

"If you don't love him, then what am I to you? Just a play thing that you can toy with?"

"Keep your voice down, Elphaba!" scolded the blonde, coming very close to the green woman's face, "And you know for a fact that you are not just some play thing to me! You never were!"

"Wouldn't have known it by the way you treated me. You threw me out of your life like a piece of wrinkled paper," stated Elphaba hotly.

"For your own protection!" argued the blonde, "You were better off back home than with me. You still are."

"I don't believe that for a second," Elphaba crossed her arms over her chest, as if to prove her point and challenge the blonde.

"Don't do this," pleaded Glinda, "You came here to end this... so do that. Don't try and rekindle what we had, it'll just be snuffed out in the end."

Elphaba bit her lip. She had came here to end this, but now that she was here, she wasn't so sure that was the right thing to do. There was always this pull, this magnetism towards Glinda that she couldn't fight. She would go to the ends of the earth to see Glinda happy and alive.

"I love you," said Elphaba with a hitch in her voice.

Glinda's bottom lip trembled every so slightly. She couldn't bring herself to look at Elphaba.

The two of them stood there, a few feet a part for a while.

Then it was Elphaba who made the first move. With one hand out, her lips crashed into Glinda's with a fiery passion, her hand that had been outstretched reached around and clutched at that gorgeous blonde hair. The blonde resisted for only a second and then she succumbed to Elphaba's passion, allowing the green woman to kiss her.

Time seemed to stand still for them, in that moment. That kiss seemed to stretch on for an eternity, for a lifetime.

And yet it seemed to end all too soon.

There was nothing but the sound of their breathing when it was over, both women standing inches apart. Gasping for breath that seemed to elude their lungs, lamenting for what could have been.

There were no blubbering goodbyes, no heart-wrenching pleas to stay from either woman.

There was no yelling or screaming...

It was just silence and their breathing. The empty space between them said everything.

Elphaba caressed Glinda's pale cheek slowly, and Glinda grasped Elphaba's hand, stopping it in it's place on her face.

The blonde tried to get her words out, an apology, a plea for her to stay. Her mouth moved but nothing except air escaped her lips.

Elphaba could see that the blonde was struggling, and she herself was too. Tears stung at her eyes but even still she saw Glinda's lips trembling through her misty veil.

Elphaba let her hand fall out of Glinda's grasp down to her side. Panicked, Glinda tried to reach for the hand again, but Elphaba stepped away from her.

The silence was deafening, almost harsh to their ears. It seemed to cause a ringing all around even though there was a lack of noise in the air.

"Elp- Elphie..." begged Glinda in an almost incomprehensible plea. Her eyes were full to the brim with unshed tears.

The green woman took a step back.

"I'll return," she said in a low voice, "when I find the book."

"No, Elphie-" the blonde tried to argue but Elphaba cut her off with another hard kiss.

The blonde's hands wrapped themselves around Elphaba's body. Despite being usually prim and proper, the blonde didn't even make a fuss when she suddenly found herself pressed against the bookcase, causing wrinkles and tears in her dress.

The two women seemed to be in their own private world, which was fulled with exchanges of kisses, moans, touches... until it shattered.

There was a knock on the door, and they hastily tried to make themselves presentable.

"Glinda, darling... is that you?" Fiyero's voice soon came after the knocking sound.

The blonde looked as if she was about to curse all of the gods. She bit her lip worriedly.

"One moment, dearest!" called out Glinda, still out of breath as she tried to fix her dress and rearrange her hair.

Elphaba made little adjustments to herself, and wore a slightly amused smirk as she watched the blonde try and keep up her prim and proper appearance.

Flustered, the blonde looked herself over for any hints of what had just happened when she noticed Elphaba's hand outstretch towards her.

Elphaba silently tucked in a lock of stray hair that had come out of Glinda's hair clip.

The blonde gave her a grateful look in return.

"All set, dearest!"

The door opened and Fiyero looked at Glinda with a rather quizzical glare. He then looked to Elphaba in surprise.

"Elphaba!" he said, gawking slightly at the sight, "What a surprise to see you here!"

Elphaba nodded at him, "Fiyero."

She then glanced at Glinda, whose eyes were begging for her to stay.

"I should get going. I was just on my way out. Goodbye Fiyero... Glinda," said Elphaba as she turned towards the door.

"Oh, so soon?" Fiyero questioned, "You should at least stay for dinner, please. It would do us some good to have some company around here."

Elphaba looked back. Fiyero had now placed his arm around the blonde's waist, holding her close. He seemed content with this position but Glinda looked as though she was going to vomit.

"I really need to get going, but thank you for the invitation," she said in a monotone voice.

Fiyero's welcoming smile faltered a little.

"Well, please don't be a stranger. You are most welcome to come by anytime, isn't that right dearest?" he glanced at his wife.

Glinda's breath hitched in her chest. Her eyes locked on Elphaba's form.

"Of course you are," she said at last in a soft, whispered voice.

Elphaba stood still for a fraction of a second, just staring at Glinda.

"I'll head out now," the green woman said at last.

She saw those blue eyes of Glinda's well up with tears, but she left before she could see them fall.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two:

And still I stood looking at the house, thinking how happy I should be if I lived there with her, and knowing that I never was happy with her, but always miserable.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

Months later, Elphaba stood in front of the Upland mansion once more, the Grimmerie in her hand.

Her eyes canvassed the area, seeing that there were no lights on in the house, but she suspected that Larena was asleep. She wanted to tell her in person that she had gotten the Grimmerie, that she was going to try and save Glinda from what seemed like a predestined fate. Elphaba stood there determined to prove Mrs. Upland wrong.

Her other hand reached for the door, but she found that it was locked. She tried again, and came to the same result. Puzzled, Elphaba walked around the house, searching for another entrance. The sky outside was darkening as it was turning into the evening. Elphaba wanted to hurry and say her piece and then leave before it began too dark to travel on foot.

She made her way around the ruined mansion carefully and finally entered it through a servant's doorway that was half ajar.

The basement of the house looked empty, like it hadn't been used in weeks. There was still a bowl of fruit left on the table, dust collecting on the skins. Time seemed to be frozen. Elphaba walked through the basement with a confused expression on her face.

She exited the basement and looked up to find herself in the foyer. The grandness of the house was no less heightened by the darkness of the night as it seeped in through the open windows. The moonlight reflected off of everything and Elphaba found herself suddenly weary.

Behind her, something moved and made a shuffling noise. Elphaba whipped around to see Camilla, the family's old hand maiden, looking at her with a frightened expression on her face.

"My Oz, Miss Elphaba," she said with a hand over her chest, "I never would have expected you to come back here in a million years."

Elphaba's brow furrowed. "Camilla, what happened to this place? Where is Mrs. Upland?" she asked.

Camilla took a step forward, her face now shown in the moonlight.

"Mrs. Upland?" she repeated, "Elphaba, Mrs. Upland is dead. She died three months ago… right around the time Glinda announced that Fiyero had left her. I'd bet my money she died because of that, I tell you."

Elphaba's mouth dropped. "She's-she's dead?" Subconsciously, she hid the Grimmerie behind her back, now not able to have the opportunity to gloat about her accomplishment.

Camilla nodded, "Yes. Miss Glinda's going to inherit the house, she's moving in here next week once I get this place cleaned up. You know how Miss Glinda was, always wanted everything to be perfect and all. I reckon that girl is going to waste away the rest of her life in here after all that she's been through," added Camilla sadly.

"Glinda's coming here?" Elphaba's voice perked up.

Camilla shook her head at the green woman.

"You always had a soft spot for that girl, didn't you?" she remarked, and when Elphaba didn't answer, she continued, "Why did you come here anyways?"

Elphaba glanced down at her feet. It seemed stupid now, coming to gloat to a dying woman about how she had achieved what she couldn't have, that Glinda had a chance thanks to her.

"I-well-I just came to say hello," she lied, and it was as unconvincing as it seemed.

Camilla shook her head again at Elphaba. "She'd be wanting to see you when she gets here, you know," she said softly as she began to dust off the vases as if everything was normal.

"No she won't," answered Elphaba all too quickly. "She doesn't want to see me anymore."

"That's what you're telling yourself to get to sleep at night, isn't it Miss Elphaba?" remarked the maid as she then dusted off a younger photograph of the blonde. Elphaba looked at it and swallowed a lump in her throat.

The younger girl looked like a doll, with her perfect white skin and her captivating blue eyes, her golden hair shining like coins. Her smirk held contempt and anger in it, and Elphaba was reminded of how harsh the blonde had been to her upon meeting each other. She was sure that the blonde had called her a frog.

"You miss her. I may not have known what exactly what was going on between you two, but I could tell that you cared for her. Anyone could. You were devoted to her," Camilla pointed out.

"She doesn't need me anymore, she doesn't want me," argued Elphaba.

"That's what you think," said Camilla as she walked towards the other wall of the foyer and dusted.

"I'm leaving, Camilla," said Elphaba abruptly, having enough of being tormented by the past.

"I'll tell Miss Glinda you stopped by," said the maid.

"Don't," hissed the green woman harshly. "Don't do that."

Camilla turned around and faced Elphaba. "Why are you pretending like you don't care about her and that she doesn't want you?"

"It's complicated."

"And why is that?" asked the maid.

"Because it's going to be just like you said. Glinda's going to come back here and she is going to hide away from the world now that her mother is dead. Glinda thinks she's a monster and she's not going to want to see either of us when she comes here," said Elphaba passionately.

"Did you ever think that maybe she's going to hide in here because she wants to be found by you? What about that, Miss Elphaba?"

"No," Elphaba shook her head, "No. That's not possible."

Camilla smiled sadly at her. "Then I guess your journey here was for nothing and you got that book for nothing as well."

Elphaba's eyes narrowed. "How did you know about that?"

Camilla laughed a little. "Madame talked about you a lot at the end, she disclosed everything to me. I know, Elphaba," she said firmly.

"Then you'll know that I can never see her again, that we broke it off and we've decided that we can't continue it," said Elphaba in a strained voice.

"But now Mrs. Upland's gone and Glinda isn't married to Fiyero anymore," Camilla reminded her.

"Just think about it, Elphaba," were Camilla's parting words as she left to clean up the living room. Elphaba remained in the foyer, surrounded by silence and the ghosts of her past.

She wondered briefly what her life would have been like if she hadn't been asked to come to this house, to befriend Glinda, if she hadn't fallen in love with her. What possibilities her life could have had! And yet she knew that those were just fantasies and that this was the life she was stuck in. She was trapped in the blonde's world just as much as Glinda was trapped in hers. Elphaba would never be able to forget her, and likewise with Glinda about Elphaba. Their lives were too intertwined.

Elphaba glanced at the Grimmerie once more. She felt as if she was too late, now with Mrs. Upland gone, Glinda would never listen. And yet she didn't want to get rid of it quite so soon.

She put the book away in her bag and started towards the front door.

"Remember, she'll be back in a week!" called out Camilla but Elphaba wasn't listening. She headed out into the overgrown gardens with only the moonlight as her guide. She studied the landscape until she found what she was looking for.

The gravestone of Larena Upland was not as lavish as Elphaba had thought it would have been. It was rather plain, with simple cursive writing. Next to Larena's grave was Mr. Upland's, and Elphaba felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she reflected on how nice he had always been to her.

Elphaba glanced at the two graves, wondering if one day she would come here to find Glinda's grave next to her parent's sooner than she expected.

She sighed, and looked at the writing on Larena's grave.

Larena Upland, it read, Wife, Mother, and Angel.

The green woman snorted at the last part, knowing fully well that Larena Upland had been no angel. Neither was Glinda for that matter.

She thought of Camilla's reminder, one week. One week and Glinda would be here. Elphaba felt her stomach dropped at the idea of seeing Glinda again. She wanted to see her with all of her heart but didn't know if she could muster up the strength.

She glanced at the house once more before she departed in the night, as if she were a ghost, leaving no trace of herself behind at the mansion.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three:

I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame, take all the success, take all the failure: in short, take me.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

In spite of herself, the green woman found herself on the doorstep of the Upland mansion almost a year later. Anxiety and nervousness coursed through her body as she stood there, wondering if she should turn back now or to knock on the door.

She bit her lip, feeling the bitter wind around her whip through the air, and against her better judgment she knocked on the door and waited.

The few moments it took before the door was opened seemed like an eternity for Elphaba, and she had half the mind to bolt then and there but was stopped as soon as the door swung open.

Cold blue eyes landed on Elphaba's face.

"Elphie?"

A pause.

What are you doing here?" the blonde's tone of voice suggested that she hadn't expected Elphaba to come back and see her ever again.

"I-I," but the green woman was unable to articulate exactly why she had come back. She wasn't even sure herself why she came back. She cowered in front of the beautiful blonde who looked paler than she had ever seen her before. But it was a sharp pale, a porcelain tone. Her eyes and hair were bright, and her lips were stained a deep red.

The blonde bit her lip, and ran a hand through her loose, curled hair. She was dressed to the nines, as she always was, in a pale blue, fitted dress that seemed to be coated in glitter for it shone like stars in the night sky.

"You really shouldn't have come back," whispered the blonde, glancing down at the floor.

"I needed to, though," expressed Elphaba.

"How did you know I was here?" inquired the blonde.

"Camilla told me a year ago that you would be coming back here, and I wasn't sure if you would still be here but I thought I'd try," explained Elphaba quite nervously.

"Oh, yes, Camilla… I sent her off to another job months ago," remarked the blonde uncaringly.

Elphaba bit her lip. She knew that that wasn't the real Glinda talking.

"So you are here all alone then? All by yourself?" she ventured to ask softly. She wasn't one to talk, she was also living alone, but in Glinda's case it was different.

"Yes, and I quite like being alone thank you very much," quipped the blonde a little too fast and sharply. "No one to bother me, or to control me. It's quite nice."

"I heard Fiyero left you," Elphaba was treading dangerous waters now but she couldn't help herself. The nervousness and anxiety of seeing Glinda again was making her bold.

A blank expression came over the blonde's face, she revealed nothing.

"Yes, he did," she answered shortly. "We all knew it would have happened eventually so when the time came it wasn't a surprise. He's better off anyways."

"And your mother's dead?" Elphaba surmised.

Glinda's features turned annoyed.

"Why do I have a feeling that you already know the answer to that?" she snapped. "Elphaba, did you come here to play twenty questions with me or do you have a real purpose for coming here?"

Elphaba was silent at the blonde's harsh question, stunned by her anger.

Glinda laughed slightly, at the ridiculousness of it all and went to shut the door on Elphaba when the green woman suddenly lunged forward and kissed the blonde.

The blonde stiffened at first but then slowly wrapped her arms around Elphaba as the kiss grew more passionate.

"I came here to tell you this, that I believe that you really can change," the green woman stated softly once they pulled away and the initial shock, on Glinda's part, wore off, "I don't believe that it's too late for you, Glinda."

The blonde smirked rather cruelly at Elphaba. They still found themselves frozen, stuck on the doorstep.

"Oh, Elphie," sighed the blonde, "You always try to believe in the best of people."

She looked down at her hands, those cherry lips just barely trembling from the cold.

"I'm a lost cause, remember?"

"Don't say such things, Glin. You're only twenty-eight for Oz's sake! I refuse to let you give up on yourself," argued the green woman.

Elphaba clutched Glinda's hands in her own. The coldness of Glinda's skin was shocking to Elphaba but she didn't let go.

"I am a lost cause, Elphaba. If you couldn't change me all those years ago, what makes you think you can do it now?" The blonde clicked her tongue in disapproval at the idea. "I'm a monster, I drove away you, Fiyero, Father. Everyone. I can't love."

"I have the Grimmerie," Elphaba said hurriedly. This was her last card to play in Glinda's game and she had waited till now to use it.

Glinda shot her head up, her eyes wide. Elphaba could tell that she hadn't been expecting that. The green woman pulled the book out of her bag slowly.

"It wouldn't change anything," the blonde dismissed the idea abruptly, as if she was uninterested.

"If you just gave it a chance, maybe it would!" Elphaba begged pushing the book towards her.

"No. No, Elphaba," cried out Glinda sternly, prying her hands away. "No magic, please!" she pleaded. "I couldn't, I won't."

"But it could help," argued the green woman.

"It's too late for that," said the blonde sadly as she glanced at the book.

"You're not a monster, Glin," pointed out Elphaba softly, "This book can help you realize that."

The blonde shook her head quickly. "Elphaba please, no good can come from it."

"But Glinda-"Elphaba was cut off by the blonde shushed her with a wave of her hand. Glinda snatched the book out of Elphaba's hand and threw it out onto the lawn, into the mess of the gardens.

Elphaba reached out and grasped her hand, holding it tightly, seeing how frightened she was at the appearance of the Grimmerie. The blonde looked at the green intertwined with her pale one with misty eyes.

"Okay, no magic," swore Elphaba softly. "But Glinda, promise me you'll let me help, let me stay here with you," she begged.

There was a pause.

"You should be heading out now, it looks like a storm is setting in," commented Glinda as her eyes surveyed the sky, but they both knew she was looking for an excuse to get rid of her. The kiss had startled her and Glinda was frightened by the Grimmerie as well.

But the horizon was indeed darkening, and a breeze chilled the air.

The blonde beauty glanced at Elphaba and it was then that the rain started to trickle down and Elphaba quickly threw on her hood and gloves to protect herself.

"Can I come and see you again?" Elpahba asked hopefully, not ready to give up on her just yet.

The blonde bit her lip, her hand still in Elphaba's grasp. Her eyes seemed to turn glossy, and she cursed herself under her breath.

"You're not going to give up, are you?" she questioned the green woman.

"No," said Elphaba resolutely. "I fully believe that you are in love with me and that you want to be with me."

Glinda looked at her.

"What if I was to say that I was in love with you but I was trying save you from getting hurt," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

Elphaba took a step closer to her. "Then I'd say that you were stubborn and that I was a fool," she then kissed her lips once more.

"I might drive you away again," Glinda voiced quietly, her eyes on anything else but Elphaba.

"No, not this time," Elphaba assured her.

The blonde looked at her, lips puckered into a twisted sort of smile. Her complexion had greatly improved in the short time Elphaba had been here.

"I want to spend the rest of my life making sure that you are never unhappy again," said the green woman.

Neither of them had realized that the rain had suddenly turned into snow due to the bitter cold. A white blanket was beginning to cover the ground like sprinkles of sugar.

A watery, true smile appeared on the blonde's lips after a few moments.

"Then you shall have to visit quite often then, to keep me from such unhappiness, dear Elphaba."

Elphaba could see the implications behind the statement and she smiled wide.

"That was quite a lengthy way of saying that you love me, Glinda but fortunately for you, I'll take it," she then kissed both of the blonde's cheeks in joy.

Glinda bit her lip, and smiled genuinely.

"I'll be back soon," Elphaba promised as she descended into the now winter wonderland around her.

Glinda, Elphaba noticed as she looked back, just once more, had either tears running down her face or snowflakes sticking to her cheeks. Either way, Elphaba could tell, she could feel it coursing through her veins that Glinda was finally changing.

She couldn't help but keep a smile on her face.

And as for the blonde, the former ice queen waited until Elphaba was out of sight to retreat back into her ice palace.

But she left the door unlocked and the light on, anticipating the green woman's return.

The End.


End file.
